Cisco Systems : Security key to managed services spend

Cisco Blog >SP360: Service Provider

Protecting businesses from the cyber threats of today and tomorrow can unlock extra revenue for trusted service providers.

Your customers are more mobile and better connected than ever. This means there are fresh security threats to exploit new devices and network vulnerabilities. Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting businesses with malware that disrupts operations and steals customer data.

Worse yet, the sophistication of threats is also growing. We know that 95 per cent of large companies have faced attacks from malicious traffic. What is more, all organizations have interacted with websites that host malware. If an advanced threat penetrates a business, its IT team may not detect it for weeks, or even months.

Your customers understand that strong security is important to maintain their reputations and minimize revenue losses resulting from breaches. But many fear that they lack skilled security staff to fend off threats. A 2015 study found that 45 per cent of organizations struggled to find qualified people. Instead, they are turning to managed service providers for protection before, during, and after an attack.

Customers want managed services to provide security

What makes network functions virtualization and cloud security services so appealing for customers? Well, they allow them to purchase the level of protection that is right for them. Clients can have effective security with agile services and solutions that is integrated, automated, open and simple to use.

Managed services deliver an integrated threat defense that combines high visibility with perfect response, driving down the time to detect and mitigate threats to zero, without the cost of skilled staff and upgrades for hardware and software. These solutions are easy to scale up or down as needed, and the subscription model lets customers switch from a CAPEX model to an OPEX approach.

Service providers also benefit

For SPs, these services offer a chance to extend protection to their customers and monetize the additional services. Clients trust their providers, and cite them as their preferred source for network access and managed network and security bundles.

Experts predict that revenue from cloud-based security services will grow from $4 billion in 2010 to more than $10 billion by 2019 (© 2015 IHS / Infonetics Research: Cloud and CPE Managed Security Services Market Size and Forecasts; March 2015). Managed security offers a prime opportunity for service providers to unlock this new revenue. SPs can offer customers a menu of security and coverage choices, tailored to their business needs. A typical business may choose a 'bronze' level offering with basic security, while ecommerce customers would need more advanced 'gold' or 'silver' options. Your customers can choose the right package they need to reduce their risk.

For example, Exaprobe in France uses Cisco's Hosted Security as a Service (HSS) solution to deliver its STARC cloud-based security services. This includes advanced malware protection and sandboxing. HSS also met France's tough security regulations.

Cisco solutions, available in cloud, CPE and hybrid models, can help you safeguard your customers against today's security threats and arm them for the future. They are pre-packaged, so you can get to market at speed and seize the opportunities for growth.

Find out more

To learn more about how Cisco can help you tap the full potential of security, visit the Cisco Cloud And Managed Services Program.