Hiring a cybersecurity partner| WatchGuard Blog

Threats are becoming more sophisticated and the cybersecurity challenges organizations face are growing. Today, one of the biggest risks is hybrid work. According to a Canalys report, 134 million employees worldwide work remotely or under a hybrid model. As we addressed in our Cybersecurity Insights, extending beyond the company office perimeter makes protection a much greater challenge.

As a result, there is increasing demand from organizations to hire a managed service provider (MSP), enabling them to implement a more cost-effective and scalable IT strategy and delivering benefits such as ongoing technical support. But hiring the best partner for this role is not always an easy task. That's why IT managers and business decision-makers should look for an MSP that can reliably provide the following six points, as a minimum:

Advanced and automated cybersecurity tools: Despite wanting to improve IT operations, internal constraints often prevent professionals from implementing advanced and automated cybersecurity measures to monitor, detect and respond to incidents when they occur. Partners must be able to address this need with ease.
Integrated cybersecurity without added costs: MSPs must be able to provide advanced cybersecurity solutions that are seamlessly integrated and that customers can choose according to their specific needs (endpoint protection, network security, secure Wi-Fi or identity management) without the need for a high outlay.

Testing and maintenance of tools: Many organizations do not have the time or resources to purchase, evaluate and continuously configure their tools. A good MSP should provide this.
Qualified cybersecurity professionals: There is a widespread problem of cybersecurity skills training in the IT departments of organizations and, on top of that, there is a shortage of qualified professionals in the job market. MSPs need to provide professionals with sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to supply these skills.
Expert support and continuous visibility: the MSP's team of expert professionals must be able to monitor, manage and respond to any anomalies or cybersecurity incidents when necessary.
Agility of response to ensure business continuity: The MSP must have a proven track record of improving customer efficiency and resolving cybersecurity incidents in the shortest possible time. To this end, it is essential that it provides automation and enables the customer to manage cybersecurity simply from a multi-layered Cloud platform.

Customers should be able to go about their business with the peace of mind that they have a partner equipped with the advanced tools to meet their needs and qualified professionals who can provide them with an optimal service. If the MSP provides the six pillars outlined above, organizations can be confident that they are hiring the right cybersecurity partner.