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New research conducted by CyberSmart indicates that managed service providers, historically expected to manage IT infrastructure for their customers, are increasingly expected to protect this infrastructure too.
The research, conducted by OnePoll in Spring 2024, polled 250 senior leaders at UK-based MSPs, found that 65% of MSP customers now expect their provider to manage either their cybersecurity infrastructure or both their cybersecurity and IT infrastructure.
This interest in MSP’s security capabilities has been noted by the MSPs surveyed in new business/RFP meetings, where 73% suggested either somewhat more (51%) or much more (22%).
The expectation that MSPs should manage security as well as IT can be viewed as a response to the security capabilities which their customers have in-house: 37% of respondents indicated that only 20% or less of their customers have a specific cybersecurity role in-house, reflecting the need for MSPs to take ownership of cyber on behalf of their customer base
It has also been reflected in strategic and structural changes taking place at MSPs. Respondents indicated they had made the following changes in the past 12 months:
- 33% had increased the associated budget for their security capabilities
- 28% have increased the associated budget for their regulatory capabilities
- 28% have made specialist cybersecurity hires
- 14% have made specialist regulatory hires
“This change in customer expectation and need reflects a sea-change in how MSPs need to operate,” said Jamie Akhtar, co-Founder and CEO at CyberSmart. MSPs are a lifeline for many SMEs and the underappreciated backbone of much of our economy’s IT infrastructure as such. As IT and cybersecurity threats become increasingly intertwined, it makes sense that managed service providers would begin to offer more security services. However, as previous research has indicated, MSPs themselves are vulnerable to cyberattacks. It’s important that they – and the wider security industry – do all that they can to empower MSPs to provide the security services they are now expected to with absolute confidence.”
The full results of the survey can be reviewed here
