01.07.21 -- Remote Work Is Here To Stay, And Other Cybersecurity Predictions For 2021

The cybersecurity industry and end-of-year predictions go together like fall and football or champagne and the New Year. But on the heels of an unprecedented year, where a viral outbreak changed the landscape of the global workforce practically overnight, portending what’s in store for the year ahead is even trickier than usual.

With so many people working from home, network constraints cause critical productivity issues. How can you improve the situation? Residential networks were never made to handle the volumes of data required for employees to do business from home. Problems like choppy video meetings, poor VoIP call quality, and slow-running applications impact the ability to get work done effectively, or even done at all. Organizations that understand these constraints can take action to increase productivity and decrease downtime for employees working from home.

There are plenty of good reasons for MSPs to outsource their NOC to a service provider but doing so comes with inherent risk—especially if you don’t do your homework first. Today's MSPs are entrusted with clients’ financial data and other sensitive information, so it's never been more important to carefully evaluate potential services providers and pick the best.

Michael Russo, chief technology officer at Shift4, has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and healthcare technology space building cutting-edge software products, leading agile teams, driving strategic business initiatives, and developing go-to-market strategies. Russo took the time to speak with VAR Insights about how to help merchants struggling to reopen, new payment methods, and what emerging technologies VARs need to be aware of.

Mynul Khan is the founder and CEO of Field Nation, an online work marketplace for connecting people to get work done. Khan took the time to speak with MSPinsights about the impact of COVID-19 on managed services, employee and client safety, and more.

I recently participated in a Facebook Live chat on the topic of SiriusDecisions Demand Waterfall® with Axcient’s Matt Hemingway, director of growth operations, and moderated by Axcient’s Corey Banner, director of partner success. We covered a lot of ground, and I wanted to share some of the key takeaways for how MSPs can better maximize their own demand waterfall.

At the heart of client and managed services provider (MSP) business relationships lie the same mechanisms that make any other relationship tick — support, appreciation, and initiative. Some MSPs no longer put in the effort once they’ve “hooked” their client; they’ve signed a contract, so they think they’re in it for the long haul.

SMBs have limited time and IT resources, and a lot on their plates — especially when it comes to cybersecurity. Unfortunately, SMBs have become the biggest target for ransomware attacks, and they need to face the harsh truth that ransomware can wreak havoc with data, budget, and reputation.

All of us, MSPs and channel vendors alike, want to get a feel for what’s coming up next. After all, the better handle you have on the business environment, the better decisions you can make. It would be tempting to think, after the year we’ve just had, that such prognostications are a mug’s game. But that’s not entirely true. Think about where good data comes from. 2020 was clearly an outlier, so it’s not necessarily indicative of the long-range trends that drive our industry.

In our ongoing quest to provide you with the best business advice possible, we’ve partnered with The ASCII Group and their members who are going to share their thoughts on timely topics or best business practices. In this article, the following ASCII member answered our questions about what to consider when hiring technicians.