If you’re partnering with a Managed Services Provider (MSP) you should consider if the services they’re managing are broader than the term implies.

Today the term Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) has gained quite a bit of traction. Just because your service provider doesn’t market themselves as managing security services doesn’t mean they don’t do it. It also doesn’t mean they do.

Managing security services carries a higher price tag and it should. Your service provider isn’t just managing day-to-day technology issues like desktop support, patch management, software and networking equipment. They are managing elements of your environment that help prevent breaches. A user is no longer an entity associated with an endpoint, applications, and a password. MSSP’s recognize this and implement different tools. These tools require a different kind of management and experience.

I want to broaden the scope of MSSP services, so you understand how Auxzillium provides its support services. If your MSP considers the management of your firewalls, VPNs, MFA, and antivirus the reason for charging MSSP rates, then you should contact Auxzillium because those are part of a business’s standard cybersecurity stack and should be included under a standard MSP agreement.

There are tools that enhance services already implemented. There are also tools that are highly specific in their purpose. Fox example, Microsoft provides MFA out of the box. However, different licensing is required to enhance MFA with things like conditional access policies. The configuration and capabilities of these policies is quite vast. There are tools that provide Security Awareness Training, phishing simulation, security orchestration and automation, and human eyes that view and correlate information received from your entire technology ecosystem. These are the kinds of things that take managed services to a different level.

You cannot put a price on protection. You should only ever want the best. Does your MSP just look for the least expensive solution requiring the least amount of effort to manage so they can maximize their ROI by charging you for “MSSP” services? I have had multiple conversations with clients regarding why something should be implemented and how Auxzillium arrived at that conclusion. In fact, I welcome the conversation. It allows me to explain the efforts Auxzillium put forth in making such a selection and why I believe it’s superior to its competitors.

Your MSP shouldn’t just be selling you security services under the MSSP label. They should consider your business’s cybersecurity position as invaluable and exhaust every effort to ensure the solutions they implement on your behalf aren’t just rebranded and geared specifically to the MSP space. At Auxzillium, we look outside the box because the world of solutions offered that benefit our clients knows no bounds.