Managed service providers (MSPs) are getting more and more revenue from security. This was revealed by Kaseya’s annual MSP Benchmark Report, which has just been released.
Kaseya surveyed 1,000 MSPs and their customers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. It found that 73 percent derive the most revenue from security services. Consequently, 78 percent of all respondents considered security the most important IT challenge of our time. This is a significant increase from last year, when only two-thirds made the same assessment.
Kaseya reports that fewer cyber attacks are occurring in SMBs. For 64 percent of MSPs surveyed, only 10 percent or less of their SMB customer base experienced a cyber attack. Note that these are incidents in which cybercriminals were successful, not all attack attempts.
Escalating threat landscape
That organizations must remain wary of cyber threats is also stressed by GM of Security Products Mike Puglia at Kaseya. “Cybersecurity remains a critical concern for MSPs, driven by two factors: the escalating threat landscape, and the persistent challenge proving high quality security services across all of their clients.” Puglia sees an increased sense of urgency among MSPs compared to previous years. “Even those MSPs who demonstrate proficiency in cybersecurity wrestle with the strategic dilemma of resource allocation. Our research underscores the imperative for MSPs to bolster their efforts to meet the rapidly growing market demands.”
Demand for security is stabilizing, according to Kaseya, but revenue is rising. However, 24 percent still find it most challenging to find new customers, which is down significantly from a year ago (36 percent). Advanced forms of cybercrime worry MSPs as much as they did last year: 19 percent see this as a major challenge.
Automation on the rise
Adoption of automation also appears to have increased. In fact, 85 percent of those surveyed say it is a must-have for organizations. In this regard, integration between different management services helps considerably: 67 percent state that this is very important to get their own work done. 75 percent believe those integrations save time, while 70 percent see efficiency gains.
AI is not to be missed here, but adoption of it does not yet have a majority. 33 percent predict people will use AI to take over otherwise tedious repetitive tasks. This disappointing adoption is partly explained by the fact that 37 percent of MSPs see AI integrations as very difficult to achieve. Also, 20 percent think AI will create more security threats.
Automation may well be much needed, as one of the most critical challenges according to MSPs is attracting new talent. The adoption of AI might not always be entirely by choice, but necessary to fill gaps in workforces.
Also read: ‘Quishing attacks surge and bypass email security’