October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the initiative started in 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. So it’s a great time to chat with customers about where their gaps are, and how your MSP business can help protect them. You can point to the research included below on how users are STILL opting for convenience over compliance with security measures, putting their businesses at risk.
In other news, keep reading to learn what’s new from Nextiva, ConnectSecure, and Meter; who acquired who (MSPs and vendors), what distie is going public; and where some familiar faces are moving to in the channel.
Products
Nextiva Introduces Team Forecasting And Scheduling Tools
Nextiva, a unified customer experience management (UCXM) platform, added Nextiva Workforce Scheduling to its Unified-CXM platform. Key features, according to the company, include automated forecasting, planning, scheduling, compliance tracking, attendance tracking, employee performance management, and more. Additionally, a new app allows teams to manage their schedules by bidding on shifts, swapping shifts, submitting time-off requests, and other tasks.
Workforce Scheduling is available now as part of the Nextiva Unified-CXM Premium package and is available as an add-on to the Essential and Professional packages.
ConnectSecure Launches Microsoft 365 Assessment Module
ConnectSecure, a provider of vulnerability and compliance management solutions for MSPs, launched a Microsoft 365 (M365) Assessment module.
The M365 Assessment Module provides a prioritized list of configuration findings; offers detailed insights into identified issues, including severity levels, remediation steps, supporting resources, and a list of impacted tenant objects; and enables regularly schedule scans to monitor configuration changes over time, highlighting any new, modified, or resolved issues in updated reports.
Available as part of ConnectSecure’s Vulnerability and Compliance Manager Premium package or as a standalone product, the M365 Assessment module is currently in Beta and will be generally available in Q4 2024.
Meter Adds Cellular To Its Networking-As-A-Service Platform
Networking-as-a-service platform provider Meter, added cellular service to its solution, which includes ISP management, routing, switching, wireless, security, DNS security, VPN, SD-WAN, and now cell coverage.
Meter Cellular offers a hybrid cellular solution that leverages Meter’s infrastructure, expertise, and existing partnerships with installers to deliver comprehensive and cost-effective cell coverage inside buildings, underground, or in remote areas. Each Meter Cellular Access Point connects to the Meter Network using a single ethernet cable, enabling Meter to install Cellular within a matter of weeks. If a space can have Wi-Fi installed, it can have Meter Cellular installed, according to the company.
Meter says that for an MSP’s customers, connection on Cellular is no different than what they would see if they were connected to their local cell tower.
Cellular will be billed by the square foot, per month. Cellular is in beta as of today and will be generally available in January 2025.
By The Numbers
New ISACA Research Finds Cybersecurity Pros Are More Stressed Out
The just-released 2024 State of Cybersecurity survey report from ISACA, a global professional association advancing trust in technology, shows that stress is on the rise for cybersecurity professionals. Indeed, 66% of the 1,800 survey respondents say their role is more stressful now than it was five years ago.
The research, which was sponsored by Adobe, identifies the top reasons for this increased stress: an increasingly complex threat landscape (81%), low budget (45%), worsening hiring/retention challenges (45%), insufficiently trained staff (45%), and lack of prioritization of cybersecurity risks (34%).
No surprise, then, that 38% of organizations are experiencing increased cybersecurity attacks, compared to 31% a year ago. These top attack types include social engineering (19%), malware (13%), unpatched system (11%) and denial of service (11%).
Moreover, nearly half (47%) expect a cyberattack on their organization in the next year, and only 40% have a high degree of confidence in their team’s ability to detect and respond to cyberthreats.
Despite the threat landscape, the survey shows cybersecurity budgets and staffing are not keeping pace. More than half (51%) say that cyber budgets are underfunded (up from 47% in 2023), and only 37% expect budgets will increase in the next year.
Ivanti Research Finds Employees Take Security Risks For Convenience
New research from IT-OT platform provider Ivanti find that employees are skirting cybersecurity efforts if their digital employee experience (DEX) is poor. MSPs and their security teams should pay attention to this, because the research reveals that just 13% of security professionals say user experience is a mission-critical priority when adopting cybersecurity tech interventions. Shocking, given that 86% of IT professionals agree poor digital experiences lead to unsafe workarounds in the workplace.
Indeed, the research finds that 1 in 2 office workers admit to using personal devices to log into work networks, with 32% saying their employers are unaware of this practice.
“Although harmless in the moment, employees typically opt for convenience and put security on the back burner,” said Mike Riemer, field CISO at Ivanti, in a press statement. “Companies should take steps to understand their employees’ workplace behaviors and adopt security measures that reduce the temptation for employees to sidestep protocols and use unsafe workarounds. Strong security shouldn’t come at the cost of user experience, as it is integral to maintaining both security and productivity.”
In other key findings, 81% of office workers report they have not been trained on Gen AI; companies aren’t providing secure tools for in-office, remote, and hybrid work; and security leaders are often excluded from DEX investment decisions.
Ivanti surveyed over 20,000 IT professionals, executive leaders, office workers and security professionals around the world.
MSP Mergers & Acquisitions
Fast Computers, an MSP in Hagersville, Ontartio, announced its merger with Solve-IT.ca, also in Ontario. The merger brings the company size to nine employees, and Fast Computers CEO Chad Kempt will continue to run the merged company.
New Charter Technologies, a portfolio company of private equity firm Oval Partners, acquired Netropole, a 30-year MSP providing services in the Portland, Oregon, area. “After 30 years in business, we had reached a point where we either had to scale up significantly on our own or look for a partner,” said Dave Johnson, owner and CEO of Netropole, in a press statement. “I’ve always been cautious about partnering with companies that might disrupt what we’ve built, but New Charter’s approach was different. They respected what we do and wanted to help us grow without changing our core values. The trust I had in their team—built over years of conversations and mutual respect—made it clear that this was the right path for us.”
“Netropole’s leadership has built something special over the past three decades, and we’re excited to support them in continuing that legacy,” said Peter Melby, CEO of New Charter Technologies, in a press statement.
Vendor Mergers & Acquisitions
Commvault, a provider of cyber resilience and data protection solutions for the hybrid cloud, is acquiring Clumio, a provider of data protection for AWS.
Identity security provider CyberArk completed its acquisition of machine identity management solution provider Venafi from private equity company Thoma Bravo. The combination of Venafi’s certificate lifecycle management, enterprise Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), workload identity management, secure code signing, and SSH security with CyberArk’s secrets management capabilities, will empower organizations to protect against misuse and compromise of machine identities at scale. Under the terms of the agreement, CyberArk acquired Venafi for approximately $1.54 billion in a combination of cash and CyberArk ordinary shares (approximately $1 billion in cash and approximately $540 million in ordinary shares).
Thoma Bravo completed its acquisition of the cybersecurity AI company Darktrace for $5.3 billion. Founded in 2013, Darktrace’s ActiveAI Security Platform provides pre-emptive visibility into security posture, real-time threat detection, and autonomous response—securing the business across cloud, email, identities, operational technology, endpoints, and network. “Thoma Bravo will be a hugely valuable partner as we pursue further scale and innovation for our next stage of growth,” said Jill Popelka, CEO of Darktrace, in a press statement. “Protecting businesses and organizations with best-in-class AI-powered, proactive cybersecurity will remain at the absolute core of what we do. “
People
Channel Program has named Lisa Silva as its new CMO and David Bopst as VP of sales … Amy Luby has joined Helpt as chief revenue officer. Previously, Luby was VP of ecosystems and communities at Seceon, VP of operations at CMIT Solutions, and chief channel evangelist at Acronis. Cytracom has appointed Rob McDonald as chief product officer. McDonald joins Cytracom from Virtru, where he was SVP of strategy and CPO.
Distribution
Ingram Micro announced it has filed for an Initial Public Offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market conditions. Ingram Micro intends to list its Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “INGM.”