Keeping up with the need to scale alongside diversifying tech stacks remains a top challenge for MSPs. While managing an array of clients leads to growth in data sets to manage, many companies face limits on budgetary resources, and choosing the wrong data management tools can prove costly. Keeping these data sets siloed across workloads inevitably adds complexity and bottlenecks.
Standardising data management while minimising strain on employees is vital to meeting evolving business needs and defending against cyberattacks. This requires scalable security and data protection measures that safeguard the entire network. Without effectively securing sensitive assets as data infrastructure grows, businesses risk falling short of regulatory requirements and customer expectations, or worse, suffering breaches from increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
While investing in any new solution may seem to contradict the goal of saving money, procuring and deploying a cloud-native backup and archiving solution will go a long way toward streamlining costs over the long term.
The dangers of mismatched workload security
Workloads like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace come with their own security features. But to stay truly safe in the face of evolving tactics by cybercriminals, those features alone are not enough. Relying solely on workspace security has been shown to leave detection and response gaps, as well as configuration inconsistencies.
These blind spots can trigger ripple effects when it comes to compliance with regulations including the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) and the Federal Information Security Modernisation Act (FISMA). The complexity of managing data protection for workloads separately also leaves security personnel vulnerable to human error as they scramble to update disparate tools and manually check siloed data.
By contrast, cloud-based, AI-powered solutions, customisable to current workloads and business needs, can more effectively close security gaps in real time while detecting and preventing unauthorised network access. Monitoring, patching, and reporting can all be carried out in the background, strengthening the knowledge base of security teams while minimising disruption.
Bringing secure scalability into one place
MSPs need a single solution that can manage backup and archiving across the entire IT estate and scale with the business. Centralising backup and recovery in workload-agnostic, cloud-native infrastructure not only helps standardise scalable security measures but also reduces unnecessary costs.
While Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are excellent productivity suites, they fall short when it comes to proactively neutralising cyber threats. Comprehensive data protection and compliance require a fully developed cybersecurity platform, built on cloud infrastructure, that unifies all critical security capabilities in one place.
True scalability in end-to-end security must be both broad and deep. Broad enough to cover all workloads at the MSP’s disposal, and deep enough to address a multi-faceted threat landscape with a multi-layered approach. Strong, cloud-native backup and recovery should protect network parameters, endpoints, data sets, and applications.
Cloud-native backup that meets MSPs where they are is essential for minimising disruption and standardising scalable data management.
The keys to successful backup and recovery automation
There is a wide range of AI-powered backup and recovery capabilities that MSPs should consider deploying on top of existing authentication and workspace features. Real-time file backup ensures that critical data transmitted via email can be recovered in the event of a breach or system failure.
Complete copies of on-premises documentation and files from all workspaces can be made easily accessible in a centralised, cloud-based location. Tamper-proof archiving, covering email and other production data, ensures vital assets required for long-term storage remain secure and easily retrievable, aiding both protection and compliance. Ideally, this archiving should align with evolving regulations such as FTCA, FISMA, and HIPAA (for healthcare MSPs).
Insights generated by these backup and recovery tools should be accessible through an interactive dashboard that highlights trends and threat patterns for security teams to act on. Decision-makers should also consider investing in an integrated, next-generation cybersecurity platform with advanced protections tailored for suites like Microsoft 365.
Augmenting existing cloud-based services, such as Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and Microsoft Defender, helps close vulnerabilities that might otherwise go unpatched, while native and API-based integration ensures seamless compatibility.
Final takeaway
MSPs across the US can no longer afford to rely solely on the built-in security features of workspace platforms.
Investing in an integrated, unified, cloud-native cybersecurity platform delivers consistent data protection, reduces strain on staff, and boosts overall productivity across the workforce.
