From complexity to clarity: The channel opportunity in streamlining cyber security

Cyber security has never been higher on the business agenda. The cost of a breach has climbed to a global average of $4.45 million, with a mounting threat from fast-acting attacks like ransomware. 

Increasingly stringent new regulations such as NIS2 and DORA also require a more strategic approach to cyber security that encompasses the supply chain and focus on achieving operational resilience. 

Enterprises are increasing their cyber spending to meet these demands, with total worldwide investment predicted to exceed $219 billion by the end of 2023 despite economic uncertainty.

At the same time, organizations are struggling to manage bloated security stacks, and urgently seeking ways to reduce complexity without sacrificing resilience.  

As such, there is a powerful opportunity for channel partners looking to increase revenue streams, particularly MSPs, MSSPs, and Systems Integrators (SIs). Those that will win are those who can help businesses understand and implement the best security architecture to meet their objectives, while delivering maximum ROI. 

The need for streamlined security  

Greater cyber risk and increasingly prescriptive regulatory demands are driving increased scrutiny over the value being delivered by cyber security investments. As a result, organizations can no longer afford to treat solutions and services as standalone purchases, but must think in terms of integrated, mature security strategies.  

As cyber threats have increased, many organizations have simply acquired new technologies to bolster resilience, but this can lead to tool sprawl and complex and cluttered security environments.

It's estimated that the average company uses roughly 45 different security tools, and without a strong guiding strategy, these investments are prone to redundancy and poor optimization. The result is a security stack that not only delivers poor financial ROI, but likely has critical defense gaps and blind spots.  

All-in-one cyber security platforms have been touted as the answer to reducing complexity. However, this can result in a “jack of all trades, master of none” outcome that cannot match the capabilities of a best-of-breed solution. 

Organizations also cannot afford to choose convenience over competence with ransomware so rampant. It only takes one successful attack to cripple a business, so the focus should be on using best-in-class technology that also has a high degree of interoperability and can contribute to a single unified view. 

This best-in-breed architecture is where the value of the channel really comes to life. Partners can help organizations to identify, deploy and integrate security tools smoothly, while also reducing the need for multiple disparate solutions.  

Using Zero Trust as an opportunity for security transformation  

Zero Trust has emerged as the strategy for establishing a more unified security stack. Gartner estimates that 10% of large enterprises will have a mature Zero Trust strategy in place by 2026, up from just 1% today. Partners that can assist organizations on their Zero Trust journey can secure a powerful new high-growth revenue stream. 

A Zero Trust architecture consists of three key capabilities; Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Zero Trust Data Security, and Zero Trust Segmentation (ZTS), the latter of which sees the deployment of microsegmentation under Zero Trust principles. ZTS allows for granular control over network traffic, thereby minimizing the attack surface and reducing the potential for lateral movement within a network. 

It offers significant opportunities for firewall and tool consolidation, providing a consistent approach to microsegmentation across the hybrid attack surface, and is easy and simple in comparison to attempting microsegmentation with static, legacy firewalls.

ZTS also presents a huge growth opportunity for the channel. Gartner’s recent Market Guide for Microsegmentation  reports that by 2026, 60% of enterprises striving for a Zero Trust architecture will employ multiple forms of microsegmentation, up from less than 5% in 2023.  

An organization may, for example, already have a robust firewall but lack adequate internal segmentation. MSPs can recommend the integration of ZTS to fortify internal security without necessitating a complete infrastructure overhaul. 

This both maximizes the utility of existing tools and ensures a more cohesive and streamlined security architecture. By doing so, they not only enhance the organization's resilience but also prepare it for future security challenges. 

Systems Integrators can also reap the benefits of the fact that ZTS is at its best when working alongside other security tools. A study by Bishop Fox found the context-rich data from ZTS was particularly good at covering the behavioral blind spots in EDR solutions. 

Seizing the opportunity with Zero Trust 

The channel’s role is to help organizations understand how they can deliver a measurable security benefit and reduce risk. Breaches are still happening daily, so every pound spent needs to contribute measurably towards strengthening resilience. 

Ultimately, conversations need to evolve from being purely about security capabilities to more about the extent to which the technology or strategy reduces the likelihood or impact of an actual breach. Strategies like Zero Trust are globally validated and proven to reduce the impact of attacks, delivering resilience and reducing costs in equal measure. 

Channel partners that can help customers deploy and maximize the effectiveness of Zero Trust will not only enhance their customers’ cyber security resilience but will be primed to capitalize on a market set for exponential growth.