ConnectWise is leveraging a cybersecurity framework defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to make it simpler for managed service providers (MSPs) to assess the cybersecurity posture of their clients.
At the same time, ConnectWise has announced it wants to expand the number of MSPs providing security services by reselling a security operations center (SOC) platform developed by Perch that is designed to be integrated with the ConnectWise remote monitoring and management tools and professional services automation (PSA) platform. The Perch Co-Managed Threat Detection & Response Platform provides event logging, an intrusion detection system, and threat intelligence capabilities.
The goal is to initially make it simpler for MSPs and solution providers to develop a cybersecurity practice using a set of assessment tools curated by ConnectWise, says Jeff Bishop, chief product officer for ConnectWise. Once MSPs start to gain cybersecurity expertise, they can then use the Perch SOC to deliver a broader portfolio of services, adds Bishop. Licensing that Perch platform through ConnectWise costs roughly two percent of what it would cost an MSP to build their own SOC, notes Bishop.
As part of that effort to expand the base of partners offering managed security services, ConnectWise also announced that it will make two full risk assessments using the ConnectWise Identify assessment tool based on the NIST framework available for free. One of those free assessment can be used for the MSP, while the other can be applied to one of their customers. After that, ConnectWise Identify will be made available for an introductory price of $99 per month for unlimited risk assessments.
While there’s no shortage of tools for scanning for cybersecurity vulnerabilities, most organizations don’t have a consistent approach to evaluating their processes and the people that manage them, notes Bishop. The issue that MSPs face is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to land new business without being able to address cybersecurity. Those cybersecurity services can either be delivered by the MSP or via a managed security service provider (MSSP) that provides services the MSP resells. ConnectWise is looking to make it simpler to address that requirement by reducing the level of investment in a SOC that would be required, says Bishop.
In fact, demand for cybersecurity services at a time when every organization in the world is short of cybersecurity expertise is becoming too big to ignore, adds Bishop.
“Security as a service is just going to grow,” says Bishop.
Of course, cybersecurity services are not a business for the faint of heart. MSPs that provide those services need to make sure they are available 24/7. The issue now, however, is that customers are making it increasingly clear they prefer to work with MSPs on all their projects that have the courage to deliver that capability.
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