The New Face of Tech Sentinels

As more and more organizations are moving towards Managed Security Services (MSS), system integrators are looking at new ways to leverage the security paradigm

 

In today's global, hyper-connected world, risks are changing. Information is ever more critical to spark innovation, build competitive advantage and inspire growth. But this same information is highly valued and is being targeted by others. The increasing use of IT and electronic systems in organisations decisions, communication and financial transactions has brought efficiency to business but also an opportunity for criminals to exploit. There is a continued rise in cyber security incidents which can threaten to severely disrupt organisations and government entities operations, profitability, proprietary information and survival. They have to constantly strive to monitor and identify all threats and adapt in a way that allows them to respond before their most valuable information is lost or damage is done within their networks.

More and more organizations today are moving towards Managed Security Services (MSS), as they are really concerned about protecting their assets. While there are companies that just want their computing infrastructure to be safe and secure, the industry is definitely seeing a spurt in demand which is further expected to increase in next couple of years.

Industry Scenario

MSS offerings exist in various forms, from pure system management to more sophisticated log analysis using a number of delivery mechanisms, from software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud services to on-premise device monitoring and management. This could spell big opportunities for solutions providers catering to the SMB and enterprise segment. Sensing this, many solution providers are working toward setting up their MSS offerings. One of the greatest challenges that managed security service provider's (MSSP's) face is that as technology and IT evolves, so the complexity and nature of threats adapt. As new threats emerge it is very difficult for MSSPs to ensure total security.

According to Frost & Sullivan's analysis of the Asia Pacific MSS market in 2012 the market earned revenue of $1.66 billion in 2012 and estimated this to reach $5.34 billion by 2019.The shift to security outsourcing is driving the market. Shifting security operations to MSSPs enables organisations to outsource progressively more complex security requirements to the experts, while focusing on their own core business processes. Although security remains a priority for organizations, the decision-makers are looking to the industry to provide them with the most advanced security solutions at the most competitive prices.

Gartner expects the overall security industry, including managed security, to grow at an 8.9 percent compound annual growth rate from 2011 through 2016, representing an increase from $60.6 billion to $85.6 billion. The MSS market is gaining acceptance among enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses. Organizations are showing inclination towards these solutions because, with lesser in-house resources, it becomes very helpful to them to meet compliance regulations and manage their branch offices and remote locations. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the need to raise the quality of security.

From Channel View

Most of the system integrators were of the opinion that the companies went in for Managed Security because of the following reasons like non-availability of skilled manpower to manage this portfolio. Also, many companies have been opting for subscription based module then capital investment as it is easy to get approval on recurring revenue based model then going in for capital items.

Jitesh Chauhan of Rubik Infotech said, "Managed security service providers continue to transform themselves, while product managers and marketers struggle to find ways to distinguish offerings. In the last fiscal, managed firewall as well as VPN services along with managed UTM services and managed intrusion detection and prevention services have been sought after solutions." While, Prabhakar S, CEO, Esteem Infotech said, "Managed services help to stabilise the organisations by fixed monthly revenue. Of late this segment has become a cut throat competition where some organisations literally compromise on the quality."

Another segment which has picked up are services around encryption and data leakages. Adding to this, Vishal Bindra of ACPL Systems said, "Data Leakage Prevention is a new addition to the area of managed services that has been adding a lot of value to businesses and is the buzzword around in the security market. Since DLP works on business logic and classification of data, it is not easy to be managed via traditional SIEM solutions. We have come up with DLP as part of MSS where we monitor and manage the technology and also ensure understanding of business environment for customers." While, Prabhakar added, "Most of the enterprises are concerned more on their application security and vulnerability of their application. Our focus will be more on this segment apart from perimeter security."

Businesses today have become more vulnerable to the cyber attacks and internal threats that are getting sophisticated by the day. Anil Kumar TV of Dhanush Infosol said, "Online and Social Media becoming integral part of every one's life in today's lifestyle, the threats are associated with the technological benefits. It is high time to focus more on this avenue of security services and it has huge market potential."
Highlight one of the challenges, Chauhan said, "The channel market is not so optimistic about managed security business. Managed Security business would require lot of time in convincing power to convenience the CIO to go in for Managed Security Business. Today the channel is purely looking in for trading of products."
Bindra said, "We see that 2014 has begun with more focus at least for us with DLP and Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) being part of our portfolio as a managed security service. Traditionally, MSS has been focusing on monitoring and management of security devices like Firewall, IPS etc. but we at ACPL think that time has come to move into the direction where the more sophisticated and also business oriented technologies should be offered as MSS." He further added, "APT would and has already started to impact the spending in BFSI segment and the investments are going to increase by the day. Also compliance is adding pressure again to a lot of companies specially the one that get into processing / outsourcing / management of data from US or EU, to ensure security of data, but again lack of infrastructure and expertise internally makes it a challenge. Even the Indian regulators are trying to put some kind of a framework around data security."

Going ahead

Today, a lot of emerging MSSPs have managed to aggregate capabilities, forward-thinking strategies, and commendable client lists. They offer comprehensive, professionally delivered security services. In some cases, they have pioneered cloud-based delivery, and others sell their services directly or through a reseller channel. Many of them have achieved significant growth rates per year and have great technical depth and flexibility. However, there is still a huge opportunity out there with dimensions evolving and changing as the time progresses. Many system integrators out there have yet a lot to achieve and this segment definitely offers a lot of potential.

A constantly evolving security threat landscape, increased pressure around compliance and the potentially devastating impact of a security breach means that businesses don't just rely on IT, they demand secure IT. Moreover, the drive towards a more mobile workforce has rendered management of the traditional corporate perimeter, an increasingly complex endeavour.

As new security threats continue to arise and evolve, an active strategy is a necessity for any business that wants to remain secure. To be truly effective, any organisation's security posture must be constantly monitored and well maintained. This creates a continuous opportunity for MSSPs to cater to and further avenues to tap. Trends indicate cloud, saas security, and customer satisfaction will be the key differentiators in this segment