Why reputation protection is critical to MSPs’ sales activities.

Before reading this, please flick up your client list on-screen.

As far back as 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 84% of B2B sales start with a recommendation or referral. We like to be sure that we’ll get the outcomes we want from our B2B purchase decisions. Failures cost money and can reflect badly on decision makers’ careers.

Now let’s go back to your client list. What was the initial source for each client? How did they find out about your MSP business? We’d wager that most of your clients can be traced back to a recommendation or referral.

Outsourcing IT services, including Office 365 security, is a high-risk decision for any business leader. They can’t afford the consequences of a breach, a bad ‘MSP buy’. So, it’s hardly surprising that they prefer to play it safe by going with MSP partners that have already won the trust of people they themselves trust.

Buyers prefer to select MSPs by reputation over Google search results.

The great news for MSPs with glowing reputations is that Deloitte’s Global Outsourcing Survey reported that cybersecurity is the No. 1 reason for IT outsourcing. There’s plenty of room for growth.

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Understanding the reputational risk of managing multiple M365 security clients.

So, what’s the problem? Let’s take the perspective of MSP clients. What do they believe they are buying & getting in return for their money? They believe their Microsoft 365 security is best managed by MSPs for five compelling reasons:

1. Expertise and Experience

MSPs specialise in IT security and have extensive experience managing and securing Microsoft 365 environments. Their expertise allows them to quickly identify and mitigate potential threats, ensuring that their organisations remain secure.

2. Proactive Monitoring and Maintenance

MSPs provide continuous monitoring of their Microsoft 365 environments, allowing them to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time. This proactive approach helps prevent breaches before they can cause significant damage.

3. Comprehensive Security Solutions

MSPs offer a wide range of security services, including threat detection, response, compliance management, and user training. They can implement a comprehensive security strategy tailored to their organisation’s needs.

4. Cost Efficiency

Outsourcing security to an MSP can be more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house team. MSPs provide access to top-tier security tools and expertise without the need for significant capital investment in infrastructure and personnel.

5. Access to Advanced Tools and Technologies

MSPs use the latest security technologies and tools to protect their Microsoft 365 environment. This includes advanced threat protection, automated response systems, and AI-driven analytics, which might be cost-prohibitive for individual organisations to acquire independently.

And yet, when we look from the perspective of MSPs, we’re aware that not every provider has these things covered for their clients. Some believe the cost, resources and effort required to be too high. They know they should be ‘on it’ and that their clients believe that they are but haven’t found a way to tackle the problem in a cost-effective manner.  

Any disconnect between client expectations and MSP service delivery leaves a gap into which MSPs reputations can fall. Clients transfer of their cybersecurity responsibilities to their MSPs means that any MSP with multiple clients has a dramatically ramped up risk of a breach…and consequent reputation damage…unless they have adequate and timely understanding of every client’s initial and evolving M365 security gaps, plus the ability to instantly remediate identified security issues.

Failing to immediately understand the nuances of every client’s office 365 security and compliance situation stacks unknown risk upon the MSP. And they will be blamed by their clients for service failures when security lapses occur because clients believed that their MSP had security covered.

The real cost for affected MSPs is a battered reputation. Client retention falls and recommendation driven new business drops.

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Protecting MSP reputations and their clients does not require a bank loan.

We’ll handover to MSPs that have adopted Octiga to manage M365 security for their clients. This is what they have to say:

Cost Savings:

‘’Octiga’s saved hundreds of hours of work because we can set one baseline standard for all clients.’’

‘’What would normally take 3-4 hours work can be accomplished in 10 minutes.’’

‘’Octiga gives us the ability to rapidly apply security baselines. This saves us many hours of work.’’

Resource efficiency: L1s, not L3s.

‘’Octiga's interface is simple. It's not confusing for someone who is a little less technical, for example a junior analyst.’’

Growth opportunities:

‘’Octiga's great value add to show to show our clients. They can see settings that are wrong, such as dormant accounts etc. The clear overview that Octiga provides allows us to give more attention to each client.’’

‘’Security reporting is great. Our boss uses these reports for quarterly business reviews with our clients to demonstrate to them that their business is secure.’’

Low cost of ownership:

‘’Price is excellent - it's cheaper than competitors. Works well and is affordable for even the smallest clients.’’

‘’Octiga's a very inexpensive way to accurately manage your customers' M365 security postures. I've referred Octiga to several other MSPs’’

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Summary:

The market for cybersecurity has never been so favourable for MSPs. But taking on M365 security clients without the right security management tools loads business risk upon MSPs. They risk delivery failures that will reduce client loyalty and new business. Removing these risks, with Octiga, is simple, fast, efficient, and low cost. It allows MSPs to be confident that they are meeting and exceeding the expectations of their clients. It puts them in a position to prove service and pursue growth.

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