Big Opportunity In Security As A Managed Service

BUSINESS CASE
Big Opportunity In Security As A Managed Service

VARs that can successfully navigate the security market can create an ongoing revenue stream by selling security as a managed service
(http://www.crn.com/sections/infrastructure/infrastructure.jhtml?articleId=171100040)

By John Roberts and Frank J. Ohlhorst,

3:00 PM EDT Fri. Sep. 23, 2005

The latest CRN survey shows that only 8 percent of polled VARs are offering managed service-based security solutions, leaving what could be a huge opportunity on the table for others to pursue. What’s more, that number is unlikely to increase as only 10 percent of those polled said they prefer to sell security as a managed service.

Resellers could be missing out on a big profit opportunity in security software solutions.

If one were to put a price on the value of compromised corporate data, the argument for implementing advanced data protection technologies and services becomes an easy one, and ROI can be highlighted as a measurable element. Surprisingly, however, concerns about identity theft have not reached the same level as concerns over general data protection. Of those VARs polled, 69 percent said they do not sell identity theft prevention solutions, which leaves businesses to fend for themselves when it comes to protecting critical identity-related information.

That situation becomes more menacing when you consider the financial burden of fines from failing to meet requirements put forth by legislation such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley. That concern helps to put a price on non-compliance and can be used as fodder to evangelize identity management solutions.

Protecting networks from malware is becoming second nature for many solution providers, but significant time is still spent cleaning up the mess created by spyware and spam, with solution providers surveyed spending the brunt of their remediation time on spyware and spam.

Interestingly, managed services may offer the best way to deal with those two significant problems, by controlling content before it can even enter a customer’s network. As more solution providers move over to a managed service-based security offering, antispyware and antispam support costs should drop.

Fifty-six percent of survey respondents still adhere to the classic method of combining hardware and software to protect IT assets. Only 13 percent have gone the security appliance route, which usually meets the needs of smaller business networks. Software-based security products are still popular with some, with 20 percent of those polled preferring that method to protect customers’ assets.

All things considered, the survey data indicates that there is a murkiness around understanding the security market, and that breeds confusion and contributes to failed solutions.

VARs that can deftly navigate the security market can realize significant profits by offering remediation services and general security services. Moreover, they can create ongoing revenue by pushing security as a managed service.