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Welcome to the MSP Radio newsletter, catching you up on some stories you might have missed! Each week we'll pull a few stories from the podcasts, give you highlights and insights, and make it easy for you to catch up on the latest news and commentary.
Share the newsletter and podcast with your colleagues, and help change the conversation around delivering technology services.
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New data on SOC effectiveness
From Monday, Jan 27th's Business of Tech Podcast: A report from the Ponemon Institute and Respond Software has analyzed the investment in security operations centers, including those outsourced to Managed Security Services Providers, and found some expensive and mediocre results.
Here are some of the findings.
- Forty two percent find their MSSP to be completely ineffective, and 58% find their MSSPs ineffective at some level.
- Almost half of IT security practitioners are dissatisfied with their SOC model (be it in house or outsourced)
- 44% report their return on investment with their SOC is getting worse.
- Sixty three percent of those who outsource to an MSSP plan to bring theSOC back in house or move to another vendor
The value the service, with 73% of respondents reporting their SOC is crucial to their security programs.
Why do we care?
The analysis believes that MSSPs are still focusing on a human-centric brute force approach and have high SOC employee attrition. Training and hiring staff takes seven months, but the average tenure is two years.
And here is where the insight lies. The whole promise of both MSSP (and Managed Services in general) is the idea of leveraging technology rather than people. For security, this just isn’t happening with broad reach.
Vendors who make security straightforward and technology driven are going to pull away. Tech services groups who leverage technology rather than people are going to also outperform. Getting these two to align would be really great…….
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Customer loses $1.7Million, sues MSP
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What can we learn from this lawsuit, and what does it mean for MSP contracts?
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Microsoft Earnings Insights
From Thursday, Jan 30th's episode: Microsoft released numbers about their Q4 2019 numbers (which is their second quarter of the 2020 fiscal year).
They outperformed analyst predictions in revenue, and notably had a 29% gain for cloud and 17% for productivity. Azure revenue increased by 64 percent, Office saw 16 percent growth for commercial and 19 percent for personal.
Their personal computing group, which includes Windows, Surface, and Xbox) saw 2% growth, which was driven primarily by Windows 7 upgrades to Windows 10. Gaming was a disappointment, with a drop of 11 percent for Xbox.
Why do we care?
Microsoft is clearly firing on all cylinders, and I admit to being a fan. Azure growth numbers were the first piece I noticed, and as I commented recently in the 501er community, the cloud pie is getting bigger for everyone. Let’s watch to see how that number continues to do as time goes on and their raw revenue gets bigger and the law of big numbers kicks in.
Office growth is good too for tech services. Windows 7 is still out there too, with a significant install base to chase. Opportunities abound here.
The gamer in me notices the Xbox decline but as the earnings call notes, new devices come out in fall, and their Xbox Game Pass subscription service is the clear leader in this space, and Microsoft is best positioned to handle cloud gaming as it comes.
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Four Stories that didn't make the podcast
In five minutes each day, there are stories that don't make the podcast but are still interesting and notable. I cover those in a weekly live stream, having a bit more time to talk about why they interest me, and why they didn't make the show. This week, State Coordinators for Cybersecurity, the Apple lawsuit about employees leaving and starting a company, the average Ransomware payment, and the UK isn't implementing an EU Digital Copyright law. Check out the video below, and broadcasts go to Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. Follow on one of those platforms to get live-streamed coverage as it happens!.
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MSP Radio Livestream on YouTube
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Upcoming events!
Catch these upcoming educational events!
- Everyone is Angry At Tech!
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Technology is changing all the time, but public perception of technology has changed even faster. From the darling of society to recipient of public scorn, big tech has changed the conversation … and not for the better. What has happened to customers’ trust, and how does it change the way solution providers should position their services? What new services can be leveraged, and how can the apparent difficulties in the market be leveraged into real opportunity?
This webinar will provide attendees with guidance for the new reality of customer perception by showcasing:
- How the market has changed
- What the pitfalls are
- How to create new service opportunities to stand apart from the crowd
- Webinar on Feb 5th, from 2pm to 3pm EST
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