Trust a challenge for security resellers

The welcome mat has been rolled out by the security industry as more vendors look to sign up managed service providers but more work needs to be done on increasing trust levels.

Research from ESET has revealed that the majority of CIOs rank trust as the most important attribute when choosing a security reseller but only half feel that their current supplier meets that need.

The firm found that CIOs rated trust in their channel partner as more important than having a high level of technical and engineering expertise and cost.

The attributes that were deemed to be less important included the pledge to provide regular contact with account managers, a painless renewals process and peer recommendation.

One of the difficulties for any MSSP looking to build trust is that CIOs are naturally cautious about taking  guidance from potential new providers.

Where they do seem to pay attention is in the actions taken by peers in their sector and there was some willingness to ask fellow CIOs about their experiences.

 “Whilst expensive, security is an increasingly important investment for CIOs, which means finding the right partner is essential,” said David Mole, UK channel director at ESET. “Given the vital role that security plays in protecting organisations’ systems and data, it is understandable that trust is paramount when choosing suppliers."

ESET found that it was not just resellers and MSPs that faced scepticism and CIOs were also doubtful about the National Cyber Security Centre and had concerns about their colleagues ability to follow IT security best practice. 

"However, our findings show that resellers and MSPs aren’t always living up to expectations, particularly when marketing their services to potential clients. If security VARs and MSPs are to become ‘trusted advisors’ to end-users, it’s essential that they focus on listening to the client’s needs and developing a tailored solution, rather than immediately suggesting a prescriptive approach," he added.

Mole said that those looking to gain trust needed to show they had experience and understood the challenges that users were trying to deal with. They also needed to make sure they added value and, "crucially, deliver on their promises".