Top 3 Security Trends That MSPs Should Follow in 2021

by John Emmitt on April 9, 2021

The MSP industry faced its share of challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the dust finally settling, businesses worldwide are now recuperating from last year’s setbacks and gearing up to scale new heights in 2021.

Although MSPs today are faced with the challenge of growing cybersecurity threats, the post-pandemic world presents a number of growth opportunities as well.

Since cybersecurity has been one of the major concerns for businesses for several years, and with the number of cyberattacks dramatically increasing during the pandemic, it’s naturally an area MSPs can look into to grow their business. MSPs can potentially add new security services to grow their existing accounts and attract new customers in 2021 and beyond.

Let’s explore the three security trends that will continue to shape the MSP landscape in 2021.

Security Is the Top Concern for MSP Clients

Cybersecurity has always been near the top of the list of services that most businesses demand from their managed service providers. As noted in the 2021 Kaseya MSP Benchmark Survey Report, a sizeable 57% of all the MSPs in the Americas, APAC and EMEA regions stated that security is among the top problems their clients are facing in 2021.

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In addition, nearly one-fifth of MSPs cited dealing with advanced and sophisticated security threats as a top challenge. Of the MSPs surveyed, 77% say that 10% to 20% of their clients have experienced at least one cyberattack in the past 12 months.

Percentage of Clients That Have Experienced at Least One Cyberattack Within the Past 12 Months

During the pandemic, we saw a huge uptick in the number of cyberattacks. Part of the reason for that was the lower level of IT security associated with work from home (WFH) employees. Cybercriminals attempted to take advantage of this situation to hack into business systems. Given the expected shift to hybrid work environments, where employees will work remotely part of the time and in the office the rest of the time, security will continue to be a major concern.

Security Emerges as an Important Post-Pandemic Growth Opportunity for MSPs

The surge in cyberattacks during the pandemic has translated into the biggest growth opportunity for MSPs. The 2021 Kaseya MSP Benchmark Survey Report shows that 37% of all respondents say security will be one of the biggest growth drivers for MSPs this year.

Post Pandemic Growth Opportunities for MSPs

With security being a common challenge for MSPs and their clients, various types of security service offerings are typically provided by most MSPs. The top security services are antivirus and anti-malware, OS patching, and email security (such as anti-phishing and anti-spam solutions).

The Top 5 General Managed Services Provided by MSPs

We see a number of security-related services are already being offered by the majority of MSPs. So, where are the opportunities for growth in this space? MSPs could expand their service offerings to include managed Security Operations Center (SOC) services, internal threat detection, vulnerability scanning, dark web monitoring and employee security training.

Security Services Revenue Growth Registers a YoY Spike

Of all service offerings, security services revenue has gone up in the past 12 months for the largest number of MSPs — a whopping 65% — even in the face of a global economic recession. This year’s report shows that cybersecurity has become ever more critical to businesses.

Armed with evolving technologies and the advantage of less secure environments due to the shift to remote work, cybercriminals were more active than ever in 2020. As a result, a significantly higher percentage of MSPs said that their clients have been turning to them for cybersecurity plans and best practices.

Also, about half of the clients of MSPs surveyed in the 2021 MSP Benchmark Survey use four or more security solutions, as shown in the graph below.

Number of Security Solutions Being Used by MSP Clients

Security has emerged as a major focus for businesses looking to thrive in a post-pandemic world. MSPs have a tremendous opportunity to expand their security services in existing accounts, acquire new customers and boost service revenue. By adding more security offerings, MSPs can not only gain an edge over their competitors but also develop a stronger hold over their target market.

For more valuable market insights, download the 2021 Kaseya MSP Benchmark Survey Report.