Techaisle Blog

Zero Trust (ZT) is a concept that, while not universally recognized, holds significant relevance in many organizations, particularly within the mid-market sector. Techaisle’s SMB and Midmarket Security Adoption Trends research shows that Its awareness is relatively low in the small business segment, with a mere 8% familiarity. However, this awareness escalates within larger organizations, reaching 46% in core midmarket businesses (100-999 employees) and 69% in upper midmarket businesses (1000-4999 employees). This trend intensifies when examining the perceived importance of ZT among those aware of it. Only 29% of small businesses regard ZT as more than “moderately important,” whereas a staggering 90% of core midmarket and 93% of upper midmarket firms deem Zero Trust as “important” or “very important.”

About 30% of upper midmarket organizations are engaged in Zero Trust (ZT) access projects. In contrast, 45% of small businesses, compared to a mere 1%-2% of midmarket firms, have no immediate plans to implement ZT access. The data reveals that a significant number of businesses have initiated the deployment of ZT access solutions: 86% of upper midmarket firms, 69% of core midmarket organizations, and 42% of small businesses.

Balancing Immediate Needs with Proactive Planning: Zero Trust Drivers for Different SMB Segments

Cutting-edge midmarket companies are embracing a variety of adoption drivers in response to Zero Trust’s (ZT) capabilities. These capabilities resonate with executives addressing immediate needs, adapting to alterations in their IT landscapes, and proactively forecasting future demands. As with most business decisions, leadership teams carve out paths to success that align best with corporate requirements. ZT stands out for its unique ability to cater to a spectrum, or even a blend, of diverse motivations.

SMBs are the backbone of any economy and are crucial in driving innovation and creating jobs. Yet, when it comes to cybersecurity, they often lag behind larger enterprises, lacking the resources and expertise to defend against sophisticated cyberattacks. This is where Managed Detection and Response (MDR) emerges, offering SMBs a cost-effective and scalable solution to secure their valuable data and infrastructure.

The cybersecurity landscape is littered with threats, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often the most vulnerable targets. According to Techaisle's research, not many SMBs are aware of Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services, a powerful tool designed to safeguard against cyberattacks. This begs the question: are SMBs missing out on a critical line of defense in today's ever-evolving digital landscape?

Awareness drives adoption

Techaisle’s SMB and Midmarket research data shows that small businesses are at a much earlier stage of their journey to MDR than their midmarket peers. Just 17% of companies with 1-99 employees report being aware of MDR, compared with 61% of core midmarket firms and 76% of upper midmarket organizations. Looking only at companies that are aware of MDR, current adoption rates mirror this pattern: 5% of small businesses that are aware of MDR are currently using these services versus 45% of core midmarket and 58% of upper midmarket organizations and virtually all companies that are aware of but not using MDR are either currently considering MDR or planning to evaluate these services within the next 12-18 months. These statistics indicate tremendous potential in each SMB segment: vendors must boost awareness of MDR’s benefits while executing an effective conversion strategy. This is especially true in small businesses – which should be an excellent fit segment for a managed service.

Selling sophisticated products to SMB customers is a significant challenge for IT vendors. This problem is especially acute with cybersecurity. Most SMB and Midmarket customer environments need defenses against many different types of threats, attackers, and threat vectors. Most SMBs lack the internal resources to understand what is required to protect against vulnerabilities and how different “shields” can be connected without leaving (or even creating) exploitable gaps in defense posture. Even the channel partners struggle to keep pace with simultaneous growth in threats and threat actors, vulnerabilities tied to in-use technologies or common business practices, and the ever-changing security vendor community.

Not long ago, channel partners tended to fall into two camps: those primarily engaged in transaction-client relationships and those who believed (or wished to believe) that their customer relationships were consultative and advisory.

Today, the channel window has changed. Forget the “trusted advisor” moniker; become a “success partner” because shared risk agreements are reshaping the channel landscape.

Shared Risk, Shared Success: The New Channel Paradigm

Techaisle has seen a rise in outcome-based relationships – in which customers define their target objective (rather than issuing an RFP detailing a specific set of products) – and shared risk agreements, in which the client contracts for a specific outcome (often, one which is tied in some way to financial metrics), where the partner is paid on achievement of the goal rather than delivery of a bundle of technology.

Techaisle’s recent Channel Survey confirms that this migration is well underway. Across all 2,115 channel partners, more than 45% describe their current “relationship philosophy” as outcome-based or shared risk. These new relationship models are best established in the MSP community, where shared risk is a primary philosophy for more than one-third of the survey’s MSPs, with an additional 23% reporting that they primarily engage in outcome-focused agreements.

Shared risk is also a critical relationship model for SIs. This seems like a logical step forward; SIs have often been targets of complaints about solution timeliness or completeness, and a shared-risk agreement helps forestall these potential objections. In contrast, VARs are only half as likely as SIs to pursue shared risk agreements; they are far more likely than any other channel group to establish transactional relationships.

The End of "Trusted Advisor"? Why Channel Partners Must Embrace Shared Risk for Mutual Success

There are few more cherished channel objectives than attaining the position of being a 'trusted advisor' to clients. The phrase connotes a relationship rooted in respect, where the channel partner provides sage counsel to clients who rely on the partner for technology and strategy. Channel partners who act as trusted advisors can direct client attention and investments in ways that enhance the long-term relationship between supplier and buyer.

Users recognize the value of advisory services. More than three-quarters believe that there is a real advantage in a supplier's ability to respond to business pain points with helpful advice. 71% report that a partner that "listens to business needs and guides a customer towards the right technology solution" provides a vital service. Nearly two-thirds believe that a firm that "shares vision and partnership with both IT and business units" facilitates outcomes important to supplier selection.

2024 will focus on metrics, not manuals, resulting in the rise of customer-centric channel strategies. The year will also center around data, not dials, and the imperative of winning in the new era of AI, partner collaboration, and ecosystem commerce. The partners will be compelled to move from silos to symphony by orchestrating the ecosystem to meet customer demands for AI and as-a-service. The Techaisle channel survey shows that the partner community members are searching for a roadmap to success. That roadmap will vary across partner models, as will the opportunities and requirements for suppliers. This shift will be driven by the rise of AI and ROI, which have made prioritizing metrics that align with business outcomes essential. Once again, vendor disintermediation will be real. The reseller channel will be under pressure as it explores different business models, product mixes, and strenuous demands for new skills and service capabilities. Techaisle partner predictions rely on extensive research with over 5000 partners leveraging a panel of over 300K partners. Here are the top 2024 top 10 channel partner predictions.