Budget constraints and cyberattacks are top concerns for SMBs

SMB network security specialist Untangle has released the results of a survey of its channel partners looking at current trends and barriers that they face when protecting clients against emerging threats.

It also examines how these companies will shape future strategic business decisions for Managed Security Providers (MSPs) and Value-Added Resellers (VARs).

In the past year cybercriminals have shifted their target to weaknesses within business supply chains to gain entry into networks, but MSPs have been fast to mitigate and help customers recover from these attacks. However, more than 100 channel partners surveyed reported that they continue to face three significant barriers within the cybersecurity market: budget constraints, limited client solution knowledge, and limited time to research and understand new threats.

Providing cybersecurity solutions has become a larger part of the channel's business in 2019, accounting for over 50 percent, in comparison to 2018, where 77 percent of respondents stated cybersecurity was less than 30 percent of their overall business.

The most common attacks on clients are identified as phishing (84 percent), malware (84 percent), and ransomware (63 percent) attacks.

Price (36 percent), limited experience (26 percent) and lack of trust (20 percent) are the top barriers the channel experiences when their clients begin or consider adopting cloud security solutions.

Looking ahead, 27 percent of partners believe that moving customer and client data to the cloud offers better security than on-premises solutions. In addition 35 percent are considering adding identity and access management along with risk and compliance management to their 2020 portfolio.

"For many organizations, MSPs are the first and sometimes the only line of defense against a cyberattack. Channel partners, by nature of their role in helping source solutions, inherit the barriers that SMB's face in the cybersecurity market and need to work within the budgets allocated," says Steve Young, channel marketing manager at Untangle. "With the number of cyberattacks expected to increase in 2020, Untangle is helping the channel stay ahead of emerging threats by providing enterprise-grade security solutions, management, and advanced networking options at price points that help our channel partners meet their client needs."

You can find out more on the Untangle blog.

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