How channel partners can cut cybersecurity costs
Dan Schiappa, CPO at Arctic Wolf and AJ Thompson, COO at Northdoor plc.
From phishing to nation-state attacks, businesses face a growing number of cybersecurity threats. Worryingly, these threats are now fuelled by innovative tools, such as AI, meaning the tactics threat actors deploy have become increasingly sophisticated. The impact of such is increased businesses have encountered almost 200,000 attacks in the last three months alone.
Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are confronted with a dizzying array of cybersecurity solutions, promising protection at high price tags. Choosing the right solution is often a fine line to tread as leaders navigate a highly challenging economic environment, as inflation and interest rates impact consumer and market confidence, forcing many to tighten budgets and reduce cybersecurity spend.
So, how can businesses balance the need to protect themselves without investing in costly cyber protection? Working with a channel partner who can advise on the right solution for your business and simplify your security stack could be the answer to improving your defence—regardless of size or revenue.
Working with a channel partner who can advise on the right solution for your business and simplify your security stack could be the answer to improving your defence—regardless of size or revenue. Share on X
Providing tailored expertise
Despite the rise of attacks against businesses, no two companies are the same. Some are more susceptible to attacks than others simply due to their industry. For example, healthcare continues to be a target due to the vast amount of highly valuable patient data organisations are responsible for. Energy and utilities companies also remain high on the list due to an attack’s ability to cause large-scale disruption if successful.
Businesses of different sizes will also have varying cybersecurity requirements. While still being a target, a SME or startup may not need the extensive security infrastructure a large, multi-layered enterprise would. This means there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for any business.
Despite this, leaders often adopt this ‘one size fits all’ approach towards cybersecurity, investing in solutions they don’t need. This is where channel partners need to be consulted. By being advised on the best solutions for their businesses’ requirements, leaders can avoid over-spending on tools that would be better deployed elsewhere and develop a highly effective cybersecurity strategy.
Streamlining cybersecurity costs
Alongside providing tailored expertise, channel partners can help businesses lower their spending by simplifying their security stack – this increases ROI and reduces operational and upfront costs.
Businesses are often led to believe layering multiple solutions on top of each other is the most effective form of cybersecurity, with the average large business having 100 security products from 35 vendors or more. While having more specialised tools may be vital for your business, having many disparate systems requires ongoing maintenance from operations teams. On top of this, ongoing regulatory changes, such as the proposed introduction of EU Cyber Resilience Act, means tools require constant updating or configuration, making expenditure even higher.
By working with a channel partner to streamline their security toolkit, businesses can increase ROI, lower the cost of maintaining multiple security solutions and lower total spent on licensing fees and system configuration.
In addition, working with a channel partner to integrate security tools into a single platform reduces the number of vendors a business needs to work with on a day-to-day basis. This, ultimately, makes it easier to monitor networks and update security infrastructure, allowing IT teams to focus on more strategic tasks and save valuable time and resources.
With many businesses looking to cut costs against a backdrop of rising attack levels, it’s vital their line of defence isn’t compromised in the process. This offers a crucial opportunity for channel partners to reduce costs for leaders by providing expertise on the best solutions for them and increase ROI by simplifying the solutions they choose. This will ensure businesses stay protected both now and in the future.