MARKET REPORT Data Security
“It’s an end to end journey and if security isn’t part of that then a reseller is
exposing themselves and their customers to so much trouble.”
Graham Wilkinson, Head of Sales, Beyond Connectivity
Emily Nerland, EMEA Channel Director at Masergy
partner to our customers.
is mindset means we’re
able to drive conversations
forward around infrastructure,
communications, disaster
recovery and business
continuity. Ultimately, these
factors combined help reduce
the risk of security breaches.”
Do you need to specialise when
it comes to security? How can
non specialist partners still
provide a solid offering without
investing?
Graham Wilkinson at Beyond
Connectivity thinks it depends
on the core business of a
reseller.
“If they are not experts
in data security then form a
partnership with a company
that is. You don’t need to
bring in a high cost specialist
but work on a referral basis if
necessary.”
Emily Nerland at Masergy
puts her view succinctly when
she says, “Without having
general knowledge, you will be
found to be a pretender.
ough that does not
mean partners have to know
everything. e reality is that
many ISPs and VARs are
struggling to get their in-house
security solutions to the point
where they can be eective. e
same can also be said for the
mid-sized enterprises scouring
the market for a robust solution
that enables them to proactively
manage cyber risks, instead of
being in a constant ‘react mode’.
Many enterprises (as well as
some resellers) only respond to
the most obvious security issues
of the day or week, therefore
many are turning to MSSPs as
a partner to provide expertise,
process, and an outside
perspective to help advance
the maturity of their security
programs.
By partnering with an
established MSSP with a track
record of success, Channel
players can then leverage that
experience without having to
invest directly in a solution
themselves. Masergy’s experts
are happy to join sales calls to
be that ‘brain in the corner’ to
answer tough questions when
they arise. is win-win also
helps partners keep customers
longer, as proven by Masergy’s
continued 99% customer
retention rate.”
ED SAYS…
This market seems to become more crucial by
the week. Clearly there is an MSSP play here for
the channel and you would expect Masergy to
push that point but there comes a time for any
reseller when you have to stick your hand up and
acknowledge you might not have all the skills or
experience required to support your customer.
technology and deliver a
defence that meets individual
business needs. At Intercity, we
take a ‘people rst’ approach,
focusing on the benets of our
services to those who use them
and providing businesses with
a trusted and knowledgeable
partner.
ree key questions for
resellers to expect from their
customers are:
• How do we minimise the risk
of future security breaches?
• What steps do we need to take
to assess security risks?
• How will AI and automated
technologies impact our
decisions on security?
What are the main sales
opportunities for data
protection solutions?
Graham Wilkinson at Beyond
Connectivity says security and
data protection has to be a key
part of any reseller’s kit bag.
“If they are selling any
network-based proposition they
have to have robust security
solutions too. It’s an end to end
journey and if security isn’t
part of that then a reseller is
exposing themselves and their
customers to so much trouble.”
“Opportunities are vast across
two areas: technologies and
services,” says Emily Nerland at
Masergy.
“In technology, trends in
articial intelligence are driving
many to seek out the latest
tools. Particularly machine
learning and behaviour analysis
can help IT teams make sense
of all the threat data much more
rapidly, distilling mountains of
alerts down to the meaningful
few. But the cloud is also a
driver, as companies need
new scalable technologies to
identify, monitor, and manage
their growing list of cloud
applications and services.
Additionally, endpoint security
is critical with the vast number
of connected devices today.
Even in the age of AI,
technology is still considered
only 50% of the success
equation. Companies still need
24/7 threat monitoring services
as well as incident response
services, where a team of
tenured security analysts fully
investigate threats and work to
fully mitigate them. Detection
and response services are
where ongoing revenue models
are strong, but opportunities
are also rich in continued
consulting that works to make
strategic improvement in
security programs.
But all this comes with the
precursor that your oering
unites technology, analytics,
mature incident response, a
global team of certied security
analysts, and strategic security
consulting. When all are
working together, customers
will like doing business with
you and prefer you over the
competition.”
Mark Adderley at Intercity
Technology, says, “It’s not
necessarily about identifying
new sales opportunities in
security. It’s about making
customer interactions wider,
across all areas of IT because
security will be a consideration
in all areas.
At Intercity, we believe
the main opportunity is to
become a long-term strategic
38 | Comms Business Magazine | March 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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