Managed Security Services – MSS
Enabling Partners to Deliver Broad and Integrated Managed Security and Networking Services
Managed Security Services – MSS
Learn why you need to reduce the risk of cyber attacks. Utilize Fortinet’s managed security services (MSSP) to protect important enterprise data.
Enabling Partners to Deliver Broad and Integrated Security and Networking Services
One recent analysis projects that companies will spend more than $58 billion on managed security services by 2024, reflecting more than a 14% annual growth rate. The cybersecurity skills shortage, coupled with increasing levels of specialization required to manage a growing security infrastructure, means that the use of managed security service providers (MSSPs) is increasingly attractive to companies of all sizes.
For MSSPs services, this trend represents an unprecedented opportunity for recruiting new clients and increasing their footprint at existing ones. But it also presents a vexing challenge. To take advantage of this growing market need, MSSPs must deliver the right mix of managed security services cost-effectively and in ways that align with the business needs and priorities of their target customers.
Fortinet MSSP partners reduce risk and minimize the impact of cyberattacks by providing managed security and monitoring technologies to protect enterprise data, infrastructure, and users regardless of who, where, when, and how IT assets are accessed. Fortinet MSSPs extend the security operations of the enterprise by bridging people, skills, process, and technology.
As a security service provider, Fortinet offers a broad portfolio of integrated and automated security tools that cover network security, cloud security, application security, access security, and network operations center (NOC) and security operations center (SOC) functions. The ability to bridge security and networking on the same platform is a big advantage for MSSPs, enabling them to offer a broad, single-provider solution and increasing average revenue per user (ARPU).
Secure SD-WAN Services
Managed Secure SD-WAN Service
Software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) affords managed security service providers (MSSPs) an incredible opportunity: to increase their footprint at customer sites by expanding into networking services. The opportunity is equally attractive to customers, as it enables them to scale their network traffic using the public internet without paying for new multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) bandwidth. But security is a big challenge for companies considering SD-WAN, as network traffic moving on the public internet opens a big, new element of the attack surface.
Other SD-WAN offerings are often based on point products that are purchased and administered separately from a security solution. This can reduce margins, degrade security, and reduce the overall quality of the service. FortiGate Secure SD-WAN combines complete security and robust networking performance in a single platform, enabling MSSPs to broaden their reach profitably.
Such an offering also provides the potential for an MSSP to expand its services to secure networking at branch locations without adding additional point products with Fortinet SD-Branch. The solution includes FortiGate next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) combined with switching, wireless access, and network access control (NAC) tools.
Launching a managed secure SD-WAN service powered by Fortinet brings a number of advantages to MSSPs:
- The opportunity to grow ARPU at existing customer sites by expanding into networking services to, from, and within branch locations
- The ability to grow this new business over time with a lack of expensive additional contracts and deployments required
- Operational efficiency and enhanced profitability by delivering the service via a fully integrated, multi-tenant toolset
SOC Services
Managed SOC Service
Building and staffing a security operations center (SOC) is an expensive undertaking for organizations of all sizes, and maintaining it on a 24×7 basis can be an ongoing resource drain for the security team. Unfortunately, the cybersecurity skills shortage means that the problem is only getting worse.
Yet, the visibility and actionable insights that can be derived from an SOC are important for the business.
MSSPs can fill this gap by delivering a range of services from their own SOC. These services can be offered at specific levels or as tailored services for individual customers’ needs. For example, many customers benefit from managed security information and event management (SIEM) services because of the deep visibility and analytics they provide. And managed detection and response services can leverage artificial intelligence (AI)-driven threat intelligence and indicators of compromise (IOCs) feeds to add layers of protection to customer environments. Customers can even have their own login to view the analytics for themselves.
The Fortinet Security Fabric, powered by FortiSOAR and FortiSIEM enables MSSPs to build a full-spectrum SOC with end-to-end integration across the entire architecture. Numerous security tools from Fortinet and third-party Fabric Partners integrate seamlessly into the Fabric, and Fortinet’s open architecture and robust representational state transfer application programming interface (REST API) enable MSSPs to integrate other solutions. MSSPs managing small to mid-sized enterprises with smaller IT security teams can use FortiSIEM and/or FortiAnalyzer for security operations. For managing large enterprises and with a mature SOC team, FortiSOAR and the Fortinet Security Fabric provide the best functionality, performance, and value.
Delivering managed SOC services using the Fortinet Security Fabric brings these benefits to MSSPs:
- The ability to offer comprehensive services without managing a plethora of point products
- The benefit of real-time, AI-powered threat intelligence along with other layers of protection against unknown threats
- Operational efficiency and enhanced profitability by delivering the service via a fully integrated, multi-tenant toolset
SOC Services
Managed SOC Service
Building and staffing a security operations center (SOC) is an expensive undertaking for organizations of all sizes, and maintaining it on a 24×7 basis can be an ongoing resource drain for the security team. Unfortunately, the cybersecurity skills shortage means that the problem is only getting worse.
Yet, the visibility and actionable insights that can be derived from an SOC are important for the business.
MSSPs can fill this gap by delivering a range of services from their own SOC. These services can be offered at specific levels or as tailored services for individual customers’ needs. For example, many customers benefit from managed security information and event management (SIEM) services because of the deep visibility and analytics they provide. And managed detection and response services can leverage artificial intelligence (AI)-driven threat intelligence and indicators of compromise (IOCs) feeds to add layers of protection to customer environments. Customers can even have their own login to view the analytics for themselves.
The Fortinet Security Fabric, powered by FortiSOAR and FortiSIEM enables MSSPs to build a full-spectrum SOC with end-to-end integration across the entire architecture. Numerous security tools from Fortinet and third-party Fabric Partners integrate seamlessly into the Fabric, and Fortinet’s open architecture and robust representational state transfer application programming interface (REST API) enable MSSPs to integrate other solutions. MSSPs managing small to mid-sized enterprises with smaller IT security teams can use FortiSIEM and/or FortiAnalyzer for security operations. For managing large enterprises and with a mature SOC team, FortiSOAR and the Fortinet Security Fabric provide the best functionality, performance, and value.
Delivering managed SOC services using the Fortinet Security Fabric brings these benefits to MSSPs:
- The ability to offer comprehensive services without managing a plethora of point products
- The benefit of real-time, AI-powered threat intelligence along with other layers of protection against unknown threats
- Operational efficiency and enhanced profitability by delivering the service via a fully integrated, multi-tenant toolset
Key MSSP Security Challenges
Visibility
The growing attack surface is one reason that many businesses are turning to MSSPs to detect and prevent attacks. Customers often employ multiple, siloed point products in their legacy infrastructure that result in incomplete visibility and increased vulnerability.
If the MSSP has that same lack of end-to-end visibility of their customers’ legacy security infrastructure, they risk fast-moving intrusions getting through before a manual threat detection and response can occur. As a result, their managed IT security services ultimately do nothing to improve their customers’ security posture. This negates opportunities to increase ARPU and might put the entire account at risk. To deliver a value add to customers, MSSPs need to achieve end-to-end visibility across each customer’s environment and provide that visibility to them via a customer portal.
Operational Efficiency
No managed service will be profitable if it is not delivered in an efficient way on the back end. Lack of integration across different security elements and architectural fragmentation increases operational inefficiencies. Without integration and automation, many security workflows must be managed manually. This certainly increases risk, but it can also slow DevOps cycles, degrade customer and employee experience, and increase administrative overhead and operational costs.
An architecture that is integrated and automated from end to end, on the other hand, enables the MSSP to deliver broad services while optimizing staff time and budgetary resources, maximizing margins, and potentially increasing ARPU. Silos are eliminated, and the MSSP’s customers receive the most complete security protection possible.
