MDR for MSPs: the key to strengthening your portfolio and protecting your customers

Managed service providers (MSPs) are key players in enterprise security, providing critical security services for customers who often lack in-house teams to manage them. However, the cyberthreat landscape is growing increasingly complex and challenging, even for these experts. 

The widespread nature of most cyberattacks, which can last for days, presents a significant challenge. Combating them requires constant 24/7 monitoring and real-time analysis of the activity gathered from that monitoring with advanced cyber intelligence and technologies. The ability to detect and contain the attacker at any time is crucial, as minimizing response time is essential to reduce the impact of the incident. The dearth of qualified cybersecurity staff available exacerbates this situation. This internal shortage poses a risk to MSP business as well as to the security of customers. This internal gap becomes a competitive risk for MSPs and a security gap for their customers. 

4 ways MDR services benefit and enhance MSP offerings

MSPs need to take a proactive approach to security. The key lies in developing a comprehensive strategy that is capable of combating current and future cybersecurity dynamics. This strategy must be able to offer greater effectiveness in dealing with potential security compromises, either by preventing them, with a robust security posture that discourages attackers, or with effective monitoring, identification of suspicious activity in customer assets, and an agile response in the event of detecting a sequence of malicious actions.

The result is bilateral, a significant improvement in the cyber defense of its customers and a boost in the MSP's business and competitiveness.

In this context, managed detection and response (MDR) services are becoming an increasingly popular tool among MSPs. In fact, according to a recent survey, 81% of MSPs already offer MDR, and almost all (97%) of those that do not already do so plan to incorporate it into their service portfolio in the near future. However, it is true that the implementation of these services presents a challenge for MSPs due to the need for highly trained personnel and considerable investment. This makes it difficult to offer these services in an effective and cost-efficient manner. In this sense, delegating it to a third party can bring great benefits, since it allows them to expand their offer and consolidate their business without investing in the creation and maintenance of their own SOC, specialized personnel, complex processes, and advanced technologies. This allows them to offer their customers:

• Continuous monitoring: 

  Many MSPs have limited resources that do not allow them to monitor their customers' environments at all times. An MDR service offers 24/7 surveillance,providing context and correlation of information gathered from endpoints and Cloud environments, such as Microsoft 365, to identify suspicious activity and be able to detect an attacker before it is too late.

• Expert analysis: 

  An MDR service provides external expertise to detect and analyze indicators of attack (IoA) in incidents to quickly neutralize potential threats and mitigate their impact. It also provides guidance for post-incident containment or remediation. In this way, MSPs can ensure the security of their customers.

• Reducing alert fatigue: 

  Amidst the flood of alerts, it is easy to overlook the ones that are really important and require attention. The MDR service takes care of the monitoring and notifies the MSP when an alert requires specific action. In this way, your team will no longer have to review alerts, but act when alerted by the MDR service only when the presence of the threat has been validated, freeing your time to attend to tasks that increase satisfaction and proximity to your customers and drive business growth.

• Regulatory compliance assistance: 

  Many MSPs work with clients in regulated industries who need compliance assistance. MDR services should help demonstrate effectiveness in improving safety posture with confidence through periodic reporting. In this way the client assisted by their MSP can demonstrate compliance with regulatory security requirements.

Incorporating an MDR service can significantly transform an MSP's offering. By delegating this service to an external provider, MSPs can provide their customers with more robust and proactive protection, without making large investments. In addition, continuous monitoring, threat identification, and mitigation by a team of external experts frees MSPs from these complex and time-consuming tasks. This allows them to focus on activities that drive business growth, while optimized cybersecurity is left in the hands of security and advanced technology specialists who ensure better response and resilience against sophisticated attacks.

If you want to learn more about how you can improve your MSP service, check out the following posts on our blog: 

• Introducing WatchGuard MDR for Our Partner Community and Their Customers
• MSPs: Why Strengthening Your Security to Protect Your Customers’ Security Is So Important
• Advantages of including an MDR service in your offering
• Improving operational efficiency: the biggest challenge MSPs face