With the right MSSP provider, you are well-equipped to refocus on growth rather than day-to-day operational challenges. Your managed security services provider must be able to minimize your downtime through proactive system administration, control and documentation of change for improved compliance, and increase your company’s ROI on critical business applications.

With the global market for MSSP services skyrocketing from the present $8 billion to approximately $30 billion by the year 2020, it's obvious that more and more companies are adopting this model to satisfy their security requirements. But what are the criteria you should use to evaluate potential candidates? How do you go about finding a reputable managed security services provider? Before even considering the practical criteria listed below, you should be sure that the MSSP you partner with has a stellar reputation in the world of digital security. You simply have to be able to trust your provider completely when your own company's security is at stake.

Criteria for Hiring a MSSP

When you find a MSSP that measures up well against the following criteria, you will be in a position to conduct some extensive discussions to be sure that your business model and your security needs are thoroughly understood and accepted.

• Provider's reputation: Ask how long a provider has been active in the industry. Assess their reputation in the market. Both aspects are reflections of their ability to manage your security issues such as vulnerabilities to hacking, malware risk and cyber threats. It can also be useful to know how satisfied the provider's current customers are, and what their renewal rate is. Reference-checking and review-checking should offer some valuable insights into how capable a provider might be.
• Service level: What kind of service level does the provider offer? Of course, they will be monitoring for intrusions at all times, but how far beyond monitoring does their service extend? What kind of incident response system can they offer?
• Understanding the business: Does the provider understand your business, and do they have other clients who are currently involved in the same business as you? Is the provider aware of any and all regulations which govern your business, and can they demonstrate compliance?
• Customer support: How accessible is customer support from your provider? Do they have an 800 number where they can be reached 24/7? When you do reach customer service, how effective is the service that is provided to you? Are they willing to regularly review log files with you? Will they willingly explain in detail what activities are occurring and what they mean to your business?
• Aggressive security measures: Is the provider proactive in seeking out new security threats? Do they have an approach which constantly evolves and adapts to the security environment, so as to provide up-to-date protection for clients? Are their counter-measures effective and timely? Do they attempt to stay ahead of the game and anticipate new threats, rather than simply react to existing ones?

The Ideal Managed Security Provider

Every minute of every day, your company is vulnerable to attack from cyber criminals. The MSSP you partner with should have a genuine concern for and an understanding of that fact. You can take advantage of the GHS managed services offering in order to mitigate business risks, build a predictable operations budget and focus your own staff on taking care of mission critical initiatives.

Contact us to learn more or leave a comment below to tell us about your remote infrastructure, backup management, cloud computing and cyber security challenges. We will be happy to discuss suitable solutions and offer managed services delivered by our experienced team.