Managed service providers, the vendors companies hire to manage their IT infrastructure, have been having a second banner year in a row. The pandemic-driven switch to remote work has driven a huge spike in outsourcing to MSPs.
The REvil Kaseya ransomware attack, disclosed just as Americans were logging off for the long weekend to celebrate July Fourth, was a wakeup call for an industry that relies so much on outsourcers for support of its most critical operations. By breaching a single software company, Kaseya, whose tools are widely used by MSPs, the gang was able to disrupt up to 1,500 businesses those MSPs support.
“It’s a highly effective, cascading event,” Daniel Clayton, VP of global services at BitDefender who in the past worked for intelligence services of both the US and UK governments, said.
MSPs Rake It in, Thanks to the Pandemic
Companies rely on MSPs for a wide range of tasks. The providers might offer help desk support, for example, or manage entire enterprise networks, data centers and cloud infrastructure, including cybersecurity.
