Managed security is the golden ticket for MSPs looking to grow their business and increase revenue. Recent estimates show that small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) spend USD$13,000 per year on their MSP contract, with about half of that going towards security services. Estimates show these figures will rise over the next several years, and there are a few reasons why.

Unfortunately, cyber attacks are becoming more common and damaging. The growing cyber crime-as-a-service economy (CaaS) has put the accumulated knowledge and tools of thousands of the world’s cyber criminals at the fingertips of anyone interested. This new marketplace enables novice, less sophisticated hackers to stage complex attacks. Additionally, modern technology has allowed hackers to automate their cyber crime activities and target thousands of victims in a single day.

Ransomware is a particularly concerning attack. Verizon’s Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR) 2022 states, “this year, ransomware has continued its upward trend with an almost 13% increase—a rise as big as the last five years combined.” Threat actors don’t discriminate across industries, locations, or business sizes. In fact, the past few years have brought catastrophic attacks on everything from huge oil pipeline companies to small private colleges, even two-physician doctor offices.

Another reason the managed security market is booming is that attackers are turning their focus toward smaller businesses. It’s no longer only the Fortune 500s and largest enterprises being targeted. Many SMBs lack proper defences and internal security experts, making them low-hanging fruit for attackers to exploit. As a result, SMBs are bumping cyber security up their priority list.

Building a sufficient defence in-house is difficult, even for big businesses with bigger budgets. That’s why SMEs turn to their MSPs for managed security and why this is a white-hot business opportunity for you.

There’s just one question left. How do you differentiate your managed security service to stand out from the competition and prove to clients and prospects that you’re the right MSP for them?

From fragmented toolsets to holistic cyber security solutions

MSPs can differentiate their managed security service and attract new clients in the process by replacing their fragmented toolsets with holistic cyber security solutions.

To create a strong defense, MSPs that offer managed security services have had to rely on cobbling together individual tools that address a single function. However, this requires considerable time, effort, and specific skills that not all providers have access to.

Fortunately, there’s another way MSPs can get the same results with fewer tools, and that’s with the right managed detection and response (MDR) solution. MSPs can replace most of their tech stack, streamlining operations while also providing a differentiated service for clients, with MDR.

Chief among the differentiation? A superior defence.

End-to-end defence

Small and mid-sized businesses need more than EDR and a firewall, but stitching together a patchwork of point security solutions creates both redundancies and gaps, the former leading to an unmanageable tech stack and the latter to exploitable weaknesses.

As an MSP, your clients deserve protection across their full threat surface—anywhere an attacker can access. Hybrid MDR—a solution that powerfully protects endpoints, networks, cloud-based services, DNS, and email—can provide the end-to-end security your clients need. With hybrid MDR, you can address all their cyber security threats or risks, whether they arise at the endpoint, cloud, or network level.

This improved protection significantly reduces the likelihood that your clients will experience a major security incident, not to mention the relationship and reputational damage you’d bear as a result. If an incident does occur, which can happen no matter how strong the defence, the comprehensive insights provided by an MDR solution make it easier to respond and recover.

Easy to deploy

Another reason hybrid MDR solutions contribute to a differentiated managed security service is that they’re easy to deploy and manage. It takes time to learn, configure, and integrate many disparate tools – time most MSPs don’t have.

What’s more, hybrid MDR is easier for you to manage. By replacing several tools in your stack, you have fewer dashboards to check and alerts to oversee. When products fail to communicate or integrate well, it leads to volumes of alerts—many of which are false positives or simply duplicates.

Hybrid MDR solutions generate more accurate, meaningful alerts, putting time back in your day to nurture relationships and give your clients the critical support they deserve.

Lower client costs

Even if all tools in your complex tech stack are configured, integrated, and communicating well, each one represents another cost either passed on to your customers or chipping away at your margins.

One way to differentiate your managed security service is by minimizing the end cost to your customers. At the same time, however, you want to make a profit.

That’s one of the reasons why hybrid MDR solutions that replace several of the tools in your existing stack are so beneficial. The approach allows you to deliver comprehensive cyber security to your clients—keeping their costs low while increasing your profits.

24×7 expert support

For decades, finding experienced professionals has been one of the core challenges in cyber security. Unfortunately, things seem to be staying that way. Finding experienced cyber security professionals can be a major challenge; demand for these individuals is so high that they have their pick of jobs and can negotiate high salaries. This skills gap makes hiring an in-house team difficult and can be prohibitively expensive.

Many MSPs have technology expertise, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into security expertise—and it shouldn’t have to. All the same, SMEs want that peace of mind knowing that they’re in good hands and that expert help is available when they need it.

By partnering with an MDR vendor backed by a team of experienced professionals, you and your clients get access to the expertise and skills you need.

How to find the right solution

Hybrid MDR has a host of benefits for MSPs and clients alike, but not all solutions are created equal—neither are the vendors who develop them. Finding the solution that meets your company’s needs while delivering the protection your clients expect can be challenging.

If you want a true partner that makes it easy to offer security to your clients, then you need to check out Field Effect. When you partner with Field Effect, you get the industry’s most sophisticated threat detection and response technology, an entire team of the world’s best security analysts at your fingertips, and all the tools you need to successfully market, sell, and deliver cyber security.

Ready to differentiate your managed security service? Learn more about Field Effect’s Partner Momentum Program.