Scale your Cybersecurity Business with MSP Partnerships

For cybersecurity vendors, regardless of their size, age, or offerings, partnering with managed services providers (MSPs) is a win-win. Not only do these channel partners do some, most, or sometimes all the heavy lifting to advance prospects through the sales funnel, MSPs also have an installed customer base, including tight relationships with many SMBs, that vendors can tap into. Who wouldn’t want a partner that makes selling easier and more successful at the same time?

US companies spent $223 billion on cybersecurity products and services in 2023, and over 90% of that amount worked its way through the partner community. Which comes as no surprise: Companies like the high-touch support and wide-ranging services that MSPs can offer, while vendors see these providers as a conduit to ideal but elusive customers. Service providers play a vital role connecting sellers with buyers. And that role is only getting bigger; companies will spend over $670 billion on managed services by 2030.

Important as it may be to embrace this path to market, choosing the best fit MSP partner matters even more. Targeting the right providers increases the odds they will be open to a partnership, just as strong alignment between vendor and MSP can supercharge the sales engine. Alternatively, pursuing the incorrect partners can waste time, revenue, and goodwill.

Foregoing MSP partners isn’t an option, but neither is rushing to pick bad partners. In this blog, we explore how successful partnerships develop between cybersecurity vendors and MSPs.

MSPs Come in Many Shapes and Sizes

The MSP market grew from just a few dozen providers at the start of the millennium to as many as 60,000 two decades later. The industry is quite deep and diverse by now, creating opportunities for strong synergy between vendor and provider—but also making it harder to find those perfect partners among a growing crowd.

Rather than rushing to ink agreements with the first MSPs to say yes, and in lieu of pursuing just the largest or most prominent players, it’s vital to be strategic. Create a profile of the MSPs most likely to have connections with ideal customers based on their target market, sales maturity, and cybersecurity selection. Then target the specific providers that fit the profile.

Bear in mind that MSPs range from a freelancer in a home office to massive global firms, and from micro specialists to kitchen-sink generalists. Any one could potentially be a great partner, so be open minded about which to pursue, and be committed to due diligence. To help narrow down the pack, eliminate MSPs that already offer a competitor’s solution as it’s a hard sell to make them switch.

How to Convince MSPs to Become Partners

At this point, vendors will have a list of MSPs they’ve identified as strong strategic business partners. Now it’s time to prove why the vendor can also be a desirable partner. Rather than ‘guess’ at how MSPs make decisions about partnering, we went to the source and asked several leading MSPs to weigh in.

According to Mark Benton, Director of Product Development at Systems Engineering, an innovative MSP in the Northeast, a simple equation determines which vendor products get attention from MSPs. “It has to address a known gap (technology, skillset, eyes on glass coverage) in our existing offers, and it’s best if it moves us to greater alignment with NIST CSF and/or CMMC.”

Viable vendors then undergo a deeper analysis from the MSP. “During the evaluation process, we look at a number of criteria,” says Joe Dashow, Executive Vice President at Loffler, a leading MSP (and more) in the Midwest, “such as technology, partner program, MSP-focus, scalability, supportability, business operations, security, and financials.”

Knowing what MSPs are looking for, cybersecurity vendors must target the strongest prospects and focus their outreach on proving the alignment between the vendor and provider. Sustainable partnerships start when both parties feel confident moving forward.

Supporting a Sustainable Channel Program

Like all relationships, the partnership between vendors and MSPs takes work to thrive over time. And in order for it to be a win-win, vendors must put a serious and sustained effort into helping provider partners.

Dashow has baseline expectations any vendor must meet. “We look for support with business process alignment, training, partner program guidance, technical assistance, and marketing collaboration.” Benton echoes many of the same baseline expectations, adding that some vendors should be held to higher standards. “That would be more for products where the vendor is also providing some level of 24/7 coverage and response, i.e. SOC service.”

While there are many ways for vendors to support MSPs, the long-term health of the relationship largely depends on the vendor’s ability to help drive growth for partners. Upselling to the partner’s existing customer base is one source of revenue, but that alone isn’t enough. Vendors must also help attract new customers to hold their spot in the product menu.

Being an amazing vendor partner to one MSP takes serious work, and managing multiple partnerships at once quickly gets complicated and resource intensive. Vendors must be willing to spend on things like market development funds (MDFs) and offer flexibility in how the MSP can utilize these funds. Most importantly, commit to nurturing the relationship into perpetuity. The strongest relationships extend beyond a sales and marketing relationship only. With the channel being such an important investment, it warrants connection from the C-Suite to the technical resources at the vendor. The return is much greater when vendors have MSPs evangelizing—enthusiastically and effectively—for their products and services.

Magnetude Consulting is the rare firm with expertise marketing with, for, and to managed service providers, especially in the cybersecurity space. For help developing a channel strategy and programming or high-impact partnerships, contact us.