The 2020 MSP Cybersecurity Readiness Survey Results: Exploring Current and Planned Security Capabilities

In a recent blog, we shared in our excitement about a new research study we commissioned that looked at the trends in managed security and backup among MSPs. That blog provided an overview of the survey’s methodology and a few preliminary data points. In this blog, we will dive into the first main section of the survey which looked at security, and we will discuss how the findings relate to the benefits provided by Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud.

The section of the survey that focused on security was fundamentally exploring what capabilities managed security services MSPs currently offer or plan to offer in the next 12 months. There were over a dozen capabilities that MSPs could choose from, and the graphic below show the top three answers which included minimizing data loss, rapid mitigation, and securing endpoints beyond anti-virus and anti-ransomware.

Protecting data from loss has been Acronis’ mission for nearly two decades. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud takes this even further with the integration of a full-stack anti-virus solution that can scan backups, vulnerability assessment capabilities with patch management, and our award-winning AI-powered anti-ransomware and anti-malware.

One new feature to highlight when it comes to keeping data from being lost is Continuous Data Protection. This new capability protects client data even between backups by defining the list of critical apps that users work with most often on every device. Acronis’ agent monitors every change made in the listed applications and backs up changes immediately – creating a zero recovery point objective (RPO). In case of a malware infection, the client can restore without losing data.

Turning to the most important areas of improvement, Chart 2 shows us the functionality that MSPs plan to invest in their portfolios during the next 12 months by looking at the largest differences between capabilities that currently exist and future planned capabilities.

Each of the three functional areas that MSPs plan to add to their portfolio can be addressed directly with a single solution – Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud.

• Securing edge and endpoint devices – Acronis provides one of the most powerful combinations of endpoint protection technologies available on the market, including anti-virus, anti-ransomware, anti-cryptojacking, patch management, URL filtering, and hard drive failure prediction.
• Zero downtime mitigation – Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud also helps MPSs prevent the unplanned downtime associated with cyberattacks. Building on the Continuous Data Protection features noted above, it combines fast disaster recovery tools with automated detection of and recovery from ransomware attacks. Integrated vulnerability assessment and patch management capabilities identify and close known cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and can be applied automatically to vulnerable or infected backups to make them safe to use – ensuring fast, reliable resumption of operations.
• AI-powered cyber detection – Core to the product’s value proposition, Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud’s AI-powered technology proactively looks for viruses, ransomware, and other malware while other parts of the AI are predicting hard drive and solid-state drive failures.

In our next blog, we will look at the current and planned capabilities within backup and recovery. For immediate access to all of the survey results, readers can download the full report. Additionally, in conjunction with the availability of the report, Acronis is also hosting a live webinar on June 11 to help MSPs understand the results and better prepare for future challenges.