Small Businesses Turn to Managed Service Providers for Security

Nearly 90% of small- to midsized businesses (SMBs) would consider hiring a new managed services provider (MSP) if they offered the right cybersecurity solution, and nearly half would pay at least 20% more for the right security solution from a new MSP. 

"We found that SMBs understand that they are not well protected," says Brian Downey, senior director of security product management for Continuum, which collected data from 850 SMBs in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Belgium, for its new SMB security report. "And ... they are willing to pay more for the right service and would even trade out an existing MSP."

Nearly 25% of SMBs have already changed MSPs in the aftermath of a cyberattack, he says.

Some 77% of SMBs anticipate that at least half of their cybersecurity needs will be outsourced in five years – and 78% are planning to invest more in cybersecurity in the next 12 months. Downey says SMBs understand what a breach can do to their businesses, and that the average total cost of cybersecurity attacks experienced in the past two years can vary by company size.

For example, the average cost of an attack for a company with 10- to 24 employees runs $38,437. That number increases to $70,357 for companies with 500- to 1,000 employees. The average cost across all the SMBs surveyed was $54,650.  

"There's a growing recognition among SMBs that a security event can impact customer loyalty," Downey says. "In fact, we found that 89% of SMBs surveyed saw security as one of their top five business priorities. As consumer awareness of security has increased following the 2016 election, SMB owners realized they need to focus on security so they can protect their companies."

Martha Vazquez, senior research analyst for infrastructure services at IDC, says there's no question SMBs are becoming more security-aware. "SMBs are still looking at price, but they wouldn't go with a Secureworks or IBM" because they are out of their price range, she says. "However, they will pay for providers that offer more advanced threat detection and analytics. They're looking at the security talent the providers have, plus the 24x7 support." 

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