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Managed security services: security outsourced

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Sharath Kumar
New Update

NEW DELHI, INDIA: With cyber crime increasing in both number and complexity, organizations are progressively leveraging outside companies to help combat these growing threats. The shift to security outsourcing is driving the market. Shifting security operations to Managed Security Service Providers (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.

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The managed security 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, managed security 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.

The Cloud Evolution and MSS

The global Managed Security Services market has also been witnessing an increasing demand for cloud-based services. With the proliferation of better internet bandwidth and improvements in web technology, cloud computing is disrupting the way companies look at IT. The architecture of cloud platforms and the fluid nature presents challenges that conventional security companies cannot handle.

As such, existing security vendors who have made their living selling boxes are often at a disadvantage. Because of a matured organizational structure which also renders rigidity in the operational side, large vendors are not really prepared to serve customers of cloud services as the changes required for them would be greater. The vendors that are starting from the ground up have an advantage here. They can`t deploy appliances in the cloud, as the network topology is different. It would require them to re-think channel sales structure, product architecture.

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Managed security segment speeding up

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 managed security services segment has the highest growth rate in security. Managed services are on the path of rapidly outpacing the overall IT security market.

Channel partners are also recognizing this opportunity and leveraging it to the fullest extent, whenever possible as they are finding creative ways to differentiate themselves among the numerous security players in the market. With managed security services, there is a transition underway from a capital expense-based deployment to an operating expense-based service engagement, so the partners who were selling products are now upgrading towards a service oriented model.

The managed security market is driven in large part by 3 major factors:

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  • Currently installed solutions are not enough
  • Many companies lack the manpower or expertise to roll out new technology
  • Many enterprises are in the midst of an IT infrastructure transformation, moving users applications, and data into the cloud, and seeking security solutions that will follow them
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Why managed security services?

IT security is turning more and more complex. It's difficult for the organizations to address ever-changing security issues, including government regulations and industry standards. This can distract them from focusing on their core business. The threat landscape is constantly evolving and in today's technology driven world there are increased online transactions, larger markets for stolen data, more complex environments, and growing opportunities for breaches to occur. Also the intruders/hackers are getting increasingly sophisticated, and for businesses, the penalty of not having secure systems is bigger than ever.

The motivations for adopting a managed security services model are an intense desire to reduce expense and financial overhead, while increasing business efficiency. With Managed Security Services model, organizations pay only for what they need, without investing in the total cost of the product, substantially lowering capital expenditure. Managed security comes with many benefits:

Concentrate on your core business: Rather than spending hours managing your security you could be concentrating on other tasks that support the business. Going with a managed security service will give you back your time to use as efficiently as possible.

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Cost-effectiveness: As managed security is offered as a service, it is accompanied by cost effectiveness.

 

A complex concern simplified: As companies expand the number of endpoints and security threats increase. Moving to a managed security services option gives you a less complex environment to manage.

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Easy to adopt new technologies: By switching to a managed security service you need not bother about keeping up with the changing technology, you simply outsource the hassle to the provider.

Need not worry about technical expertise for managing security: With managed security services, you don't need to maintain a dedicated technical resource/team for managing day to day security issues

With Managed Security Services, businesses get the technical know-how, capabilities, and expertise to investigate and reveal the vulnerabilities and the solutions to keep the business secure. In a nutshell, it is better to be served at a relatively lower cost.

( The author is co-founder and CMO, Nevales Networks)

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