Small businesses are increasingly at risk, with 73% reporting cybersecurity incidents in the past year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. This alarming trend demands stronger cybersecurity measures and awareness to protect sensitive data.
MSPs play a crucial role in assisting SMBs with cybersecurity strategies, yet face the challenge of detecting, monitoring and resolving a growing volume of security alerts and logs amidst an expanding attack landscape. To effectively safeguard these vulnerable businesses, they require seamless platforms, cost-efficient holistic solutions and robust sales and business development support.
Recognizing these needs is Guardz, a Gold sponsor of MSP Expo 2024, taking place February 13-15 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Guardz will be in booth #442. We had a chance to speak with Dor Eisner, co-founder and CEO, Guardz, who spoke about the MSP landscape, how Guardz empowers MSPs to secure their clients and what Guardz will bring to MSP Expo.
Here is what Eisner had to say:
What recent innovations in your products or services are particularly relevant for MSPs?
The Guardz unified cybersecurity platform is MSP-first by design, providing a multi-tenant architecture specifically created to help MSPs expand their businesses while at the same time protecting users, emails, web, data, digital assets, devices, and cloud directories in a single pane of glass.
Our platform engages a user-centric approach, allowing for easier detection navigation, risk prioritizing, and empowering response actions. This aids in significantly improving the user experience, ensuring that tasks and processes are streamlined and user-friendly.
In terms of licensing, we have also innovated our MSP Licensing Model to suit the needs of MSPs. We now offer a "Pay as You Grow" monthly subscription per user, along with different pricing tiers, allowing flexibility and scalability as your business grows. This makes our cybersecurity platform not just effective at bolstering security but also practical and cost-effective for use by MSPs of various sizes.
Describe your company's role in the MSP ecosystem and how your company supports MSPs.
Guardz was created to empower MSPs to secure and insure their clients against ever-evolving threats such as phishing, ransomware attacks, account compromise, and data loss by leveraging AI to automate the detection and response in a multilayered approach.
By combining robust cybersecurity technology and deep insurance expertise, Guardz ensures that MSPs security measures are consistently monitored, managed, and optimized to prevent the next attack and mitigate the risk.
What are the top 2-3 trends you are seeing in the MSP space, and why they are important to MSPs?
Increased security threats: Cybersecurity is arguably the most important aspect that MSPs must deal with. With the rise of AaaS, we’re witnessing an emergence of easier ways for malicious parties to initiate advanced attacks. This increase in security threats is a trend MSPs simply cannot ignore. It requires them to evolve constantly and improve their security offerings to protect their client's data and to maintain their trust. This evolution might involve adopting new security technologies or forming partnerships with Cybersecurity-as-a-Service providers. Not only does this allow them to protect their existing client base, but it also creates an opportunity for adding revenue streams by providing an expanded portfolio of security services.
Rise of AI: The adoption of AI and machine learning technologies is another notable trend among MSPs. These technologies offer numerous advantages, such as predictive analysis, anomaly detection, and automation of routine tasks. For instance, machine learning can be used to learn normal network behavior and flag any deviations as potential threats, enabling faster detection of cyberattacks, including those launched through AaaS models. AI can also automate routine tasks, freeing up staff to focus on more complex issues and improvements. This enables MSPs to provide more efficient, high-quality services, leading to improved client satisfaction and retention.
How are these trends impacting your business?
These trends are driving our business as we continuously seek ways to improve and innovate our offerings. The increased security threats have made our service more vital for MSPs as they are able to leverage a more unified and multilayered approach to provide end-to-end protection to their clients. The rise of AI has enhanced our capability to automatically detect and respond to evolving security threats, cementing our place as a go-to solution for MSPs seeking an efficient, effective, and AI-powered cybersecurity platform.
How do your services/products integrate into the MSP landscape, creating symbiotic relationships rather than a mere vendor-client dynamic?
We provide a unified, MSP-first cybersecurity platform that is purpose-built to not just sell to MSPs but to work side-by-side with them. Our platform integrates seamlessly into the MSP’s existing ecosystem, allowing them to offer their clients a more robust and unified cybersecurity solution. This helps MSPs expand their revenue potential while providing additional value to their clients.
To further enhance this partnership, we work hand-in-hand with MSPs to understand their unique needs, challenge their conventional ways of handling cybersecurity, and tailor our solutions to best fit their requirements.
What emerging technologies (e.g., IoT, 5G, AI, generative AI, etc.) should MSPs be considering and incorporating into their service offerings to help their clients stay ahead in their respective industries?
AI and Machine Learning are at the forefront of emerging technologies that MSPs should consider. These technologies facilitate automated threat detection and response, improve efficiency, and increase overall cybersecurity resilience. Guardz leverages these tools to ensure our clients are one step ahead of cyber threat actors.
The technology landscape and business needs are constantly evolving. How does your company's strategy actively encourage MSPs to embrace change and turn it into a strategic advantage?
Our strategy in confronting the evolving technology landscape and changing business needs consists of three core principles: innovation, adaptability, and collaboration.
Innovation: We continuously invest in R&D to stay at the forefront. Emerging technologies like AI and ML play a pivotal role in how we develop our cybersecurity solutions. By providing innovative solutions, we not only tackle current cybersecurity threats but also anticipate future scenarios. This innovation empowers MSPs to be leaders in offering the very best security solutions to their clients.
Adaptability: Our platform and pricing structure is designed to be highly flexible. Our “Pay as You Grow” model allows MSPs to scale their security capabilities easily as their business needs evolve. Our platform's multi-tenancy capabilities also allow MSPs to customize their offerings for each client, turning the rapid pace of business change into a strategic advantage.
Collaboration: We believe in open dialogue and strong partnership with our MSPs. We actively seek feedback from our partners to understand their evolving needs and adapt our solutions accordingly. Through regular webinars, strategy sessions, and technical support, we ensure that our MSPs are prepared to turn changes in the technology landscape into opportunities.
By driving innovation, adaptability, and collaboration, our strategy aims to equip MSPs with the necessary tools and skills to capitalize on the rapidly changing technology landscape. We empower them to embrace change rather than be disrupted by it by helping them stay agile, competitive, and ready for what's next.
What key challenges do MSPs commonly face, and how are you helping solve them?
Challenges:
Competition: The MSP market is highly competitive, which means MSPs need to demonstrate how their services can add value, improve efficiency, and streamline operations for their clients.
Vendor management: Working with multiple cybersecurity vendors means dealing with different dashboards, contracts, pricing, training, and upkeep costs, which are time-consuming to manage simultaneously.
Complexity of remediation: Dealing with security incidents and exposed elements may require a multi-step approach to remediation involving multiple stakeholders, systems, and tools.
How Guardz solves them:
Unified Cybersecurity Platform: Guardz believes in connecting the dots, encompassing all layers of defense, providing a unified shield against evolving threats, and ensuring the MSP client security is robust and thorough.
What sets your solution apart from competitors in the market?
Secure top attack vectors: Users, emails, web, data, external surface, endpoints, cloud posture, awareness and more.
User-centric approach: Navigate detections and empower response actions based on a user-focused experience.
MSP-First by Design: Multi-tenant architecture designed to help MSPs grow their business.
MSP licensing model: Pay as you grow, monthly subscription per user, pricing tiers.
Tailored cyber insurance (U.S.-only): Full cyber coverage, tailored pricing, quick binding.
Please share a success story about how your strategies helped MSPs navigate the growth minefield, turning challenges into opportunities.
Many of our MSP partners highlight two primary features of Guardz that have significantly facilitated the scale and growth of their businesses.
The Prospecting Report: This feature was specifically designed to empower MSPs to overcome a significant challenge in attracting new clients. By offering such an in-depth overview of the businesses cyber posture, MSPs can better identify, understand, and address the cybersecurity needs of their clients. Furthermore, they can use it as a tool to engage with prospects.
The Growth Hub: Comprising a wealth of marketing resources, the ability to establish direct connections with channel managers, tailored reports, branding customization, and a snapshot of customer subscriptions, this hub streamlines operations and enables MSPs to enhance customer engagement. It centralizes pivotal tools and information in one accessible location, thereby empowering MSPs to achieve higher efficiency and effectiveness in their growth strategies.
How do you see the MSP industry evolving in the next several years, and how is your company preparing for these changes?
It’s all about cybersecurity and making sure that SMBs have the right protection and coverage.
What technological changes/evolution do you expect to see in the coming year, and how will those changes impact your business and/or the MSP market?
The evolution of AI is going to change the cybersecurity landscape, and cyber insurance is going to be a must-have for SMBs.
What are you most looking forward to at MSP Expo 2024?
MSP Expo 2024 brings an exciting opportunity for us at Guardz, and there's a lot we are looking forward to. Top of our list is the chance of connecting and networking with MSPs from around the globe. The event is an excellent platform to meet like-minded professionals, exchange ideas, and learn from the experiences of others in our field.
What is your session, and why is it a must-attend at MSP Expo 2024?
I will be participating in the panel discussion titled, "What Hackers Know That You Should Know, Too".
Why are you participating at MSP Expo 2024, and what are you highlighting at your booth?
We will be showcasing the Guardz platform, highlighting how it equips MSPs with the essential tools needed to secure and protect their clients, all from one unified platform.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
