Adding value to the channel – the benefits of managed security services for the reseller
By Fred Mitchell, Security Business Unit Manager at Drive Control Corporation
Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and resellers are expected to keep up to date with all of the latest trends and developments, stocking and supporting all of the newest technologies. However, with the influx of technology and the pace of its evolution, resellers may not necessarily have the skills and expertise to offer maintenance on the products they sell. Managed services offered by distributors can help to overcome this challenge, by harnessing the skill and experience of staff at the distributor to assist with management and maintenance of tools, bridging this gap and enabling resellers to add more value for their customers.
When it comes to software there are certain skill sets that are necessary in order to install, maintain, update and upgrade solutions. IT security, backup and protection specifically are mission critical in today’s world, and if they are installed incorrectly or are not maintained adequately this can cause long-term negative effects for business, compromising critical network assets and organisational data. Security is also constantly evolving to meet increasingly sophisticated threats, and enterprises are exposed to new threats on an almost daily basis. This means that it is increasingly difficult to defend against ever changing security threats.
Even if a reseller has the skills to do this, it is a resource-intensive operation that can be time consuming and unprofitable, requiring constant updating and upgrading in order to protect against an ever changing threat landscape. Outsourcing this as a managed service to the distributor either enables access to the necessary skills if they are not available in house, or frees up skilled resources to focus on more strategic efforts.
This model has several benefits for the reseller, including the ability to fill gaps in onboard skills, broadening their product and services offering without having to invest in additional skills. It also opens up additional revenue streams, since the reseller can in fact resell the managed services. The resources from the distributor will wear the hat of the reseller at clients, so that a seamless experience is created for the customer. This enables the reseller to then deliver more cost effective services to customers, leveraging economies of scale at the distributor. These services are also delivered under strict service-level agreements (SLAs), and ensure resellers can provide their customers with continuous expertise and value through a combination of onsite activities, on-call assistance, and remote monitoring.
Leveraging managed services, resellers are empowered to offer their customers a host of benefits, including improved cost control and easier management of security budgets, reduced complexity and enhanced security, monitoring and management to deliver critical support, and up-to-date protection to safeguard from multiple and evolving security threats.
Security is a key concern in today’s connected environment and providing effective security for the enterprise requires powerful technology, accurate threat intelligence, proven processes, and experienced professionals to bring it all together. However this can be challenging given increasingly complex network environments and limited resources as well as the ever present skills gap. This means that it is difficult for resellers to keep up, and it can be difficult and costly to maintain the necessary skills in house. Leveraging managed services supplied by a value added distributor allows resellers to not only broaden their offering but improve customer security and deliver comprehensive solutions that meet the needs of the modern business world.
