With digital transformation in full swing and network attack surfaces increasing, it’s harder than ever to build an IT team big enough to keep all your networks secure and your systems running. That’s what managed services are for — outsourcing IT expertise and talent so you can focus on mission-critical business goals.
But is it better to hire an MSP (Managed Service Provider) that focuses on integration and usability, or are you better off going with an MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider) that will keep all of your networks safe from cyber-attacks?
Read on to learn more about MSPs and MSSPs, and why the right option for you might be a hybrid of the two — an MSSP that offers MSP services.
What to Expect From a Managed Service Provider (MSP)
Companies are dealing with an increasingly complex suite of technology to meet business goals, and when that technology fails, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars. For some businesses, even an hour of downtime can become a huge setback.
On the other hand, it requires a great deal of IT expertise and resources to keep all systems running smoothly, and most IT teams simply aren’t big enough.
Companies turn to MSPs to outsource IT operations so their in-house team can focus on furthering business goals. MSPs manage integrations between software and hardware, provide cloud connectivity, and app support — all in one place.
Strengths
The power of using an MSP is that they can act as a sort of composer, orchestrating every bit of technology so it all runs harmoniously together. The result is simple, usable technology that allows your business to run more efficiently, instead of getting in the way of progress.
Using an MSP means that you can keep a lean in-house IT team that’s focused more on innovation and furthering business goals, while the outsourced MSP handles the minutia of IT — like support tickets. They can also provide round-the-clock monitoring so you can act quickly to recover data and prevent disastrous down-time.
Weaknesses
While an MSP is a great “jack of all trades” solution for IT operations, most MSPs lack specialized cybersecurity knowledge and resources. The cybersecurity plan of the typical MSP is reactive, only stepping in when there is an attack.
What’s not included is the ability to prevent breaches and provide critical services like managed detection and response, incident planning and management, red teaming, security awareness, and more.
A Security Operations Center can provide all of these services, plus 24/7 security monitoring, but most MSPs don’t provide this service. Instead, they contract these sophisticated and critical cybersecurity services out to MSSPs — which often comes at an added cost to you.
What to Expect From a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)
The biggest gap of an MSP is that they don’t provide comprehensive cybersecurity tools, which is where MSSPs come in.
Cyberattacks have been increasing both in regularity and sophistication in the past two years, costing businesses more and more money. Attack surfaces increase as more businesses move to a remote or hybrid workforce, and endpoint security is becoming more critical.
An MSSP is focused on providing the latest security tools so companies can keep all of their networks and assets safe.
Strengths
Cybersecurity is a round-the-clock job, and most IT teams don’t have the resources to provide 24/7 monitoring and quick response. An MSSP provides a Security Operations Center that monitors all networks and uses powerful AI tools to identify potential threats or vulnerabilities.
Along with threat detection and monitoring, MSSPs provide tools like incident planning and security planning to stop attacks from happening, and close the gap on any network vulnerabilities.
For example, an MSSP might run Red Teams — comprehensive simulations of attacks that are aimed at sniffing out every possible weakness in your network, so you can shore up your defenses.
Weaknesses
While cybersecurity is critical for businesses, it is not the only factor in IT operations. MSSPs are laser-focused on ensuring security, which can come at the cost of usability.
MSSPs tend to provide siloed tools that don’t always integrate well with the rest of the technology suite, so you end up with too many tools that add complexity to your IT team instead of simplifying things.
MSSPs that are focused solely on cybersecurity often act in discordance with the harmonious orchestra of your other managed services.
The Best of Both Worlds — An MSSP With MSP Services
Both MSPs and MSSPs have their strengths and weaknesses. An MSSP combined with MSP services however, can provide the best of both worlds — powerful cybersecurity tools and the simplification of your technology suite.
Cybersecurity should not be siloed from the rest of your tools. Every bit of technology that you use — from your cloud infrastructure to your network and applications — should be held to the highest standards of cybersecurity.
An MSSP that provides MSP services is able to choose the best solutions for your business that both simplify your technology and make it more secure. They know every aspect of your technology use well and can act as an advocate both for your technology goals and critical security needs.
Instead of reactive MSP cybersecurity that only steps in when it’s too late, or siloed MSSP cybersecurity tools that can slow your team down, having one source for all of your managed IT needs reduces IT complexity without sacrificing security.
DYOPATH provides the security of an MSSP with comprehensive MSP services, so you can simplify your IT infrastructure and focus more on your business goals. DYOPATH helps to expose the security vulnerabilities that hinder your operations, along with offering a suite of managed services — all in one place.
Contact Us and learn about how you can do more without growing your IT team.