As this episode releases, I’m in Miami for the Acronis CyberFit Summit. Acronis released a Cybersecurity and the future role of the MSP study, conducted by Vanson Borne with Channel Pro Network.
Here are some highlights.
Unsurprisingly, 97% are concerned about breaches. That said, 49% admit their customers don’t trust the security of their own services, and 53% then don’t trust their vendors. This could be why they are struggling to justify rising costs – the majority are struggling, and 17% are struggling a great deal.
Only 3% are managing all SaaS applications – with an average of 14 SaaS tools per organization, only about 58% of tools are being managed.
Size matters here too – the smaller the provider, the greater proportion of data loss or downtime due to a breach. The smaller the firm, the greater the vulnerabilities too. Unsurprisingly, providers are trying to reduce the number of vendors they work with – 92% are trying to consolidate down. Those with less vendors are more comfortable with their risk profile. The research cites a number of roughly two hundred thirty thousand dollars savings in consolidation with a reduction of 5 hours in an incident. Integration brings further profit enhancements.
Look, I’m big on zero trust. I ask the 47% who DO trust their vendors – why? Trust, but verify – not just blindly trust. I actually want to see that number move towards 100%. Think that through – you want ZERO trust, right?
Acronis is positioning as a cybersecurity platform so it’s no surprise they are looking at consolidation. This is data that makes logical sense when considered even in that context.
Smaller providers are going to continue to have growing challenges. When I put out my “Don’t Start an MSP” piece this summer, it’s not because I don’t believe in the model, it’s because of this. The barriers to entry continue to go up, and the risks are higher. That’s not to say it’s impossible or that it’s not worth doing. Scaling or partnering up for those very small organizations is going to be key.