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Selling IT security solutions to clients is a bit
of a challenge. Many non-technical people think
security means antivirus and little else. Further-
more, individuals who’ve never been the victims
of a virus attack or security breach sometimes
assume that you are overstating the potential
risks. Prepare yourself with this advice offered
by Solarwind MSP.
1.
Consider all of the elements that make up a
comprehensive IT security strategy, and verify
that they’re effective.
2.
Explain the various solution components to
clients in a clear and engaging way or their
eyes will glaze over.
3.
When SMBs assume their business is too small
for hackers to worry about, be ready to fully ex-
plain the risks.
4.
Construct an “all inclusive” package of ser-
vices and position it as full security for $X per
user per month.
5.
Stay current on new threats and new methods
needed to mitigate new risks, and then be ready
to alter your recommendations accordingly – it’s
what your customers deserve and it proves you
take your security responsibilities seriously.
While security spending is only
a small part of overall IT budgets,
remaining at about 1.5 percent
of budgets in 2016, according to
Computer Economics figures, it has
been steadily growing and will con-
tinue to do so, said the research
firm. Organizations of all sizes are
planning to increase spending on
IT security, with 81 percent of large
organizations, 77 percent of mid-
sized organizations and 56 percent
of small organizations surveyed by
CE planning an increase. Only a
scant 3 percent of small organiza-
tions plan a decrease in spending.
451 Research, for its part,
found a less-bullish 48 percent of
IT security professional expecting
to see an increased security budget
in the latter part of 2016, but it
found a similarly small 3 percent
expecting to see smaller budgets.
Why the increase in spending
now, when security threats are noth-
ing new? The reasons include in-
creased media scrutiny over security
incidents, increased regulation and
compliance costs and a constantly
widening array of threats, said Com-
puter Economics researchers.
“However, one thing we
shouldn’t overlook,” said David
Wagner, vice president for Com-
puter Economics, “is the changing
nature of IT security. Many security
experts are recommending turning
away from a perimeter defense
strategy, which tries to prevent
breaches from occurring, to a
‘monitor and mitigate’ approach
which emphasizes identifying in-
cidents quickly and dealing with
them before too much damage
occurs. This requires investment
in new skills and technology.”
When 451 asked security pros
to name their top general informa-
tion security concerns, hackers with
malicious intent remained at the
top of the list, followed by compli-
ance issues (50 percent), internal
audit deficiencies based on findings
(34 percent) and preventing/detect-
ing insider espionage. In terms of
the threats respondents believe
are currently inadequately ad-
dressed within their organizations,
preventing/detecting internal
threats narrowly edged out the
external threats of hackers with
malicious intent.
IT Security Spending
aTop Priority
5Tips for MSPs
Selling IT Security
35
January - February, 2017
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