The Holy Grail for business owners is increased revenue with reduced costs. Pairing these objectives to existing customers is very tricky because it puts the business at risk for perceived “escalated billing” with negligible service improvement.
But what if you could expand your service offering to the same customer by increasing your footprint of coverage? It’s proven that selling to an existing customer is demonstrably cheaper and more profitable. So, what is the obstacle to expanding and where do you expand to?
A Solution: OT Networks
Cal Jeffrey
Many of your customers already have operational technology (OT) networks. However, those that do usually don’t have a partner capable of offering the range of services that MSPs provide. They also often don’t have the expertise to deliver SLAs against OT requirements.
Cyber initiatives in OT are not only being mandated by regulation, but these operators are now aware of the substantial risk to production that a lack of cyber solutions poses to their businesses.
Why OT Networks Are Not an Option Already
The challenge for many IT-centric MSPs is their unfamiliarity with OT, their lack of connection to these companies as existing customers, or their shortage of skilled talent to manage the security for these networks. Yes, it is different. But at the root, it’s the same.
Agent-based solutions are not viable in OT. The machines, devices, and sensors that operate in these networks won’t tolerate an installed software agent. They require network-based inspection. Firewalls are inadequate because they lack the deep packet intelligence of the OT protocols.
How to Overcome the Obstacles
The good news is that times have changed — and your opportunity has arrived.
Enter machine learning (ML) and AI. Now, vendors can produce accurate, intelligent, and expert systems that bring decades of knowledge of these networks, protocols, and threats to the average SOC analyst. You can have the confidence to pursue these customers and networks within your own customer portfolio with assurance that you can deliver on the promise of quality coverage, value-added service and meet SLAs with the same consistency.
Concurrently, your customers will be happier about it. They already have a high degree of satisfaction with you, and you just solved another massive problem for them.
How Big is the Opportunity?
Conservative estimates across the industry put OT cyber spend for FY 2024 between $16 billion and $24 billion. That is set to increase at a roughly22% annual growth rate, putting the market spend within 10 years at nearly $120 billion. This eclipses the IT spend and the transition to cloud, cloud analytics and hybrid worker market.
The question is: Do you want to enter the market or leave it to your competitor? If the customers are there, your infrastructure is ready, and the tools now exist, what is stopping you?
The market needs you, these customers need you, and regulations require it. It is a perfect storm for your MSP’s growth. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
InsightCyber LLC Director of Strategic Partnerships Cal Jeffrey is a cybersecurity veteran with more than 30 years of experience in secure computing and security architecture. A frequent guest speaker, his contrarian perspective is notable for helping identify critical aspects that are often overlooked.
Image: iStock
