Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2020. Read them in this 12th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
By Sascha Giese,
Head Geek, SolarWinds
Avoiding the Security Blame Game, MSSP-Style
Managed services providers (MSPs) have become a critical component of IT
departments too vast to manage internally. Using an external partner to
organize, store, and manage data has allowed IT to flourish by granting
organizations access to experts, cutting redundant costs, and allowing internal
IT teams to focus on business performance without getting bogged down in day-to-day
activities. But there's one area where businesses still need assistance:
security.
The next step in implementing managed services
or an MSP vendor in 2020 will be integrating a managed security services
provider (MSSP). MSSPs are particularly
appealing to organizations with limited budget, staff, or resources to maintain
good cybersecurity. Employing an MSSP eliminates the internal "blame game" and
tech pro finger-pointing when it comes to data security disasters.
2019 has seen unprecedented instances of
cybersecurity crises-from data breaches at Capital One and a U.S. Customs and
Border Protection contractor, to the ransomware attacks targeting hospitals and
local governments, to the supply chain attacks at Asus and more. This past year
has proven any organization can be vulnerable to an attack, making it more
important for organizations to take responsibility. When something goes wrong,
organizations can't afford to play the corporate blame game for their security
failures. Enter an MSSP.
There
are many good reasons to outsource cybersecurity responsibilities to an MSSP,
including a sole focus on security, access to round-the-clock skilled staff,
access to tools typically more expensive than other IT solutions, and
flexibility to take on specialized services to meet compliance regulations. For
these reasons, in
2020, we'll continue to see an uptick in organizations integrating MSSPs. Those
who will get the most value from MSSPs will be organizations taking more
responsibility for their data security and not looking for a scapegoat for when
something goes awry.
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About the Author
Sascha
Giese
holds various technical certifications, including being a Cisco Certified
Network Associate (CCNA), Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA), Microsoft
Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), VMware Technical Sales Professional
(VTSP), AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, and Network Performance Monitor and
Server & Application Monitor SolarWinds Certified Professional® (SCP).
He has more than 10 years of technical IT
experience, four of which have been as a senior pre-sales engineer at
SolarWinds. As a senior pre-sales engineer, Sascha was responsible for product
training SolarWinds channel partners and customers, regularly participated in
the annual SolarWinds Partner Summit EMEA, and contributed in the company's
professional certification program, SolarWinds Certified Professional.