How Automation Can Bolster MSSP Security Offerings

Automation is the key to MSSP success today. Midmarket organizations are grappling with the same security threats as large enterprises, but often without the same level of resources to combat them. When these midmarket security challenges combine with the fact that the global workforce is increasingly becoming more decentralized (accelerated by the current health crisis), new hurdles emerge and bring with them additional security risk and complexity. Automation offers MSSPs powerful capabilities to help combat these problems for customers. WatchGuard Product Manager Stephen Helm recently explored this topic in a guest article for MSPinsights titled, “4 Ways MSSPs Can Improve Their Security Offerings Through Automation.”

Stephen notes: “Securing your customers in the 2020s requires more than a locked door; it requires careful consideration of your points of vulnerability, and the ability to quickly, proactively, and effectively address them. These are just a few reasons why organizations are increasingly looking to their trusted MSSP for security expertise and support.”

He continues on and explores four key ways that automation can help MSSPs deliver better security for customers and grow their business, including filling the skills gap, streamlining security deployments, providing complete network management, and blocking more threats at the gateway. Here’s an excerpt on how automation can help streamline security deployments:

“Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, deploying security appliances in remote locations was often a costly and resource-intensive challenge for many MSSPs. Now, with fewer people in offices and data centers, and significant restrictions on travel, requiring a member of your team to be physically present for deployment can be simply untenable. Cloud deployment using automation can eliminate much of the labor involved in setting up firewalls at customer sites, without ever having to leave your home or office. With the right solutions, security appliances can be pre-configured in the cloud and shipped to customers who simply need to power them on and ensure there’s an internet connection. From there, the automated configurations are accepted and you can manage security remotely from any location.”

To read the full article, click here here. And, learn more about WatchGuard’s Automation Core framework here.