Cynet’s Katie Bird: Economic Downturn Offers Opportunities For MSPs

Katie Bird, director of channel marketing at security firm Cynet, offers advice to MSPs looking expand into MSSPs, shares why the economic downturn might not be so bad for MSPs and talks about the importance of women in the industry seizing every opportunity in the latest episode of Channel Women in Security.

Despite the economic uncertainty still brewing, Katie Bird, director of channel marketing at cybersecurity company Cynet, tells during CRNtv that this current economy brings lots of opportunities for MSPs.

Here’s a look at what the channel marketing director of the Boston-based company had to say about it and more on the newest episode of the Channel Women in Security series.

What would you say is the biggest trend you see right now in security?

The biggest trend that I’m seeing in cybersecurity is MSPs wanting to get their feet wet to become MSSPs. They want to know how to start the journey and what that looks like in terms of their security stack and what they can do to improve what it is that they do.

What’s your advice for MSPs that are looking to dip into that?

Pay attention to consolidation and automation when looking at the security stack. [MSPs will want] something that can help automate all disparitable toolsAnd something that helps take them from a position of console like day-to-day operations to console management. So, that type of consolidation and automation is really what MSPs are looking for because they‘re not going to hire additional staff to manage that security staff and they need to have a way to automate that and provide 24/7 support within it.

Right now, it’s a time of recession or approaching a recession. Is this an opportunity for MSPs to capitalize on?

I think that it’s a great opportunity for the MSPs. A lot of clients are looking for [things] like insurance for insurance purposes. They’re going to see their premiums increased if they don’t have certain compliances, those types of things and those types of stipulations are being put on their customers is actually going to drive their demand up over time.

I also think that the smaller, middle enterprises are looking for solutions too, regardless of the down economy. The economy is showing, time and time again, that with the technology sector and specifically the channel technology sector has outperformed the market by like 10 or 20 points. So, let’s all just take a deep breath and figure out how we strategize to do the right things in 2023.

While we are talking about opportunities, what is your advice to other women navigating the cybersecurity space?

Always pick one cross-functional project a quarter, where you want to go deeper and where you want to learn more. And never, ever, ever not raise your hand for an opportunity, no matter how small. That gives you the ability to be able to make friends and do things that you wouldn’t normally do. If you just make the time once a quarter to take that cross-functional project, it’s going to change your career.