A big opportunity exists for security-savvy MSPs to fill a growing demand gap supported by the right channel partnerships, says CTO Ryan Bradbury.
The likelihood of comms channel resellers and MSPs being asked about security issues is growing by the day, because businesses are moving beyond seeing security as just a compliance requirement, they see it as central to their operation and reputation. The key drivers include the shift to cloud-based architectures, the rise in remote working and an increase in ransomware and social engineering attacks. “For channel partners, there is an excellent opportunity to package and deliver security-first services,” stated Bradbury.
He says customers are looking for holistic, integrated solutions rather than one-off products; and noted that the trust customers place in resellers and MSPs who understand their security challenges is growing, creating a propitious environment for partners to expand their security portfolio.
These shifts are reflected in the way CyberLab’s strategy and proposition has evolved, pointed out Bradbury. “Over the past three years CyberLab has transitioned from mainly offering standalone services like penetration testing and basic endpoint protection, to delivering comprehensive, integrated security support services leveraging our technical expertise,” he explained. “We have broadened our capabilities to include Advanced Threat Detection, Managed Security Services and Zero Trust architecture consulting.”
CyberLab’s key aim this year are to deepen its managed services offering, especially around AI-driven threat hunting, automated incident response and cloud security posture management. The company also plans to develop more specific solutions for highly regulated industries including healthcare, finance and critical infrastructure.
The main focus area in CyberLab’s R&D investment is the continued development of CyberLab Control to include additional integrations and capabilities that help users gain insight into their security posture and enable them to self-serve security products. “More broadly, our R&D efforts centre on expanding our capabilities for ongoing breach and attack simulations and integrating security controls directly into cloud environments, which makes it easier to scale as businesses grow,” added Bradbury.
He says these developments will translate into new revenue streams for channel partners, allowing them to offer advanced security monitoring and validation services backed by CyberLab. These include Identity & Access Management, Zero Trust Network Access, advanced endpoint detection and response, and ransomware and supply chain attacks.
Proactive measures
“We want to help our customers and partners move from reactive threat mitigation to proactive risk management,” added Bradbury. “For smaller organisations this means helping them to understand what cybersecurity threats are most applicable to them and aiding them in adopting appropriate countermeasures. For larger businesses, we now emphasise Zero Trust architecture, SASE and advanced threat intelligence to address the complex threats that will become more prevalent as tools like GhostGPT propagate.”
In terms of where change is happening fastest in the security environment, Bradbury pinpointed hybrid work and cloud proliferation as key drivers. “The dissolving network perimeter means endpoint and identity security have become paramount,” he stated. “Threat actors are targeting entire ecosystems, heightening demand for end-to-end visibility and threat intelligence services. Meanwhile, regulatory pressure is pushing businesses to regularly assess and upgrade their security postures. These changes are driving demand for robust managed security services, risk assessments and penetration testing. Resellers and MSPs offering these comprehensive services can unlock lucrative recurring revenue models.”
For channel partners, there is an excellent opportunity to package and deliver security-first services
The most profitable elements of current security solutions, observed Bradbury, are Managed Detection & Response which continues to be a strong revenue generator because customers value a 24/7 service that combines technology, expertise and proactive threat hunting. Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessments remains both profitable and vital, noted Bradbury, especially when integrated into a broader security lifecycle approach.
“Consulting and professional services are also high margin engagements that address specific, complex problems like cloud migration strategies, compliance audits and incident response planning,” he added. “Looking ahead we anticipate significant growth in SASE and Zero Trust architectures, IoT security and AI-driven analytics.”
Of particular note among the technology trends in the security space that interest Bradbury most is machine learning which he sees moving beyond anomaly detection to contextual threat understanding, identifying not just what happened, but why. “As more data moves to the edge, ensuring robust security controls in distributed networks will be essential,” added Bradbury. “Although still emerging, we’re also keeping a close eye on encryption methods resilient against future quantum-computing threats.”
Closing the expertise gap
Perhaps chief among the challenges preventing many resellers and MSPs from maximising the security opportunity is that cyber expertise is still scarce. Complex ecosystems are also a barrier because the wide variety of point solutions can make it hard to piece together a cohesive security stack. CyberLab addresses this by providing integrated platforms and reference architectures. To help close the skills gap the company offers training, certification programmes and co-managed options.
Cost is another big issue, noted Bradbury. “While cybersecurity budgets are gradually increasing the cost and complexity of many solutions still represents a barrier to selling,” he added. “To overcome this barrier CyberLab consults with customers to understand the main threats they face and the right counter-measures. We then prioritise and build out business cases to implement on a timescale that allows for advance submissions for budgets.
“Some customers still see security as a cost centre. We support partners with co-marketing materials and thought leadership content to articulate the ROI of robust security measures, and educate customers on why cutting back on outlays today is going to cost more when they are inevitably impacted by a cybersecurity incident.”
Adopting a consultative approach is one of the top three lessons that resellers and MSPs could learn from CyberLab’s most successful partners, says Bradbury. “Don’t just talk to customers about what you want to sell, build trust through honesty and provide options based on their real needs backed by clear metrics and ROI,” he said. “The other two key lessons are to leverage the expertise of security-focused vendors and keep teams informed on the latest threats and technologies.”
A lesson yet to be learnt by the broader industry, believes Bradbury, is that a more unified and collaborative environment is required where vendors, distributors and partners share threat intelligence, best practices and technology standards more freely. “This approach would reduce fragmentation and complexity, providing customers with stronger, more cohesive solutions,” he stated.