Untangle Inc., a leader in comprehensive network security for small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) and distributed enterprises, today announced the results for its second annual <"Voice of the Channel"> report. The report surveyed Channel Partners, both locally and internationally, to better understand the current cybersecurity trends impacting the channel, as well as their security predictions for 2020. The survey results look at current trends and barriers that Channel Partners face when protecting clients against emerging threats and how they will shape future strategic business decisions for Managed Security Providers (MSPs) and Value-Added Resellers (VARs). 

Channel Partners, IT security professionals who assist SMBs and organizations with network security deployment, were integral in 2019's battle against cyberattacks. Cybercriminals shifted their target to weaknesses within business supply chains to gain entry into networks, but MSPs were fast to mitigate and help customers recover from these attacks. However, more than 100 Channel Partners surveyed reported that they continue to face three significant barriers within the cybersecurity market: budget constraints, limited client solution knowledge, and limited time to research and understand new threats. This echoes results found in 2018. 

"For many organizations, MSPs are the first and sometimes the only line of defense against a cyberattack. Channel Partners, by nature of their role in helping source solutions, inherit the barriers that SMB's face in the cybersecurity market and need to work within the budgets allocated," said Steve Young, channel marketing manager at Untangle. "With the number of cyberattacks expected to increase in 2020, Untangle is helping the channel stay ahead of emerging threats by providing enterprise-grade security solutions, management, and advanced networking options at price points that help our Channel Partners meet their client needs."

Key highlights of the report include:

• 65% of Channel Partners purchase cybersecurity solutions directly from a vendor. 
• 23% of Channel Partners surveyed believe that lack of customer knowledge is the number one barrier in the cybersecurity market, followed by budget constraints (22%), and limited time to research and understand new threats (13%).  
• 27% of Channel Partners believe that moving customer and client data to the cloud offers better security than on-premises solutions.
• In 2019, respondents stated that providing cybersecurity solutions was over 50% of their overall business, in comparison to 2018, where 77% of respondents stated cybersecurity was less than 30% of their overall business. 
• Channel Partners identified their clients were specifically targeted by phishing (84%), malware (84%), and ransomware (63%) attacks.
• 35% of Channel Partners are considering adding identity and access management along with risk and compliance management to their 2020 portfolio.
• Price (36%), limited experience (26%) and lack of trust (20%) are the top barriers the channel experiences when their clients begin or consider adopting cloud security solutions. 
  

The good news for SMBs is that 99 percent of Channel Partners indicated that cybersecurity, as an overall part of their business, will increase or stay the same in 2020, while 85 percent believe that their cybersecurity revenue will increase in 2020. Other key 2020 predictions include:

• The largest threats the channel expects to encounter in 2020 are ransomware (46%) and phishing (25%).
• Future product offerings will include Compliance-as-a-Service (CaaS) for clients who require additional reporting and regulations, such as schools, libraries, financial institutions and government offices.