Vendor Spotlight: Cytracom

Dive into the world of cutting-edge communication solutions with our latest Vendor Spotlight featuring Cytracom! Discover how Cytracom’s innovative VoIP and unified communications platform can revolutionize your business communication experience. Learn about their advanced features, seamless integration options, and unparalleled support.

1. What do you like most about being partnered with The 20? 

Members of The 20 are uniquely focused on standardizing on their platform and helping each other grow their business leveraging vendor partnerships and the best technology available in the channel. This fits perfectly with Cytracom’s mission to provide solutions that are always on the cutting-edge, easy to use, and built for MSPs to help them increase MRR without increasing service delivery overhead. 

2. Tell us what your company does in 2 sentences or less. 

Cytracom’s ControlOne is a next generation security solution built for MSPs, that addresses network security gaps that traditional hardware centric networking devices can’t handle. Our fully managed UCaaS platform delivers cloud-based voice plus mobility, desktop integration, messaging and more – simplified for small to midsize businesses. 

3. What’s your advice for MSPs in 2024? 

Don’t undervalue your time or services! Focus more on how you can help your clients efficiently run their business vs fixating on technology for the sake of doing so. Integrate everything you can into your managed services agreement to protect and grow your brand, and leverage vendor relationship that are leaning in to help you grow 

4. What sets your company apart in the competitive MSP vendor ecosystem? 

 We are a channel-only company and our solutions were built for MSPs. We were founded by a former MSP, and the majority of our leadership team has extensive experience in the MSP channel. This translates to Cytracom delivering innovative solutions that are tightly aligned with the business and growth goals of MSPs.  

5. Describe your approach to helping MSPs in 3 words. 

Empower, Enable, Support 

6. Fill in the blank: The best MSPs are usually the best at ______. 

Maintaining focus on their business and avoiding distractions, while balancing an open mind and fostering innovation. The best MSPs choose vendors who align with and support their business model, providing resources that directly help with growth and profitability of the business. The best owners work on the business more than they work in the business. 

7. What emerging technology or trend do you think will have the biggest impact on MSPs over the next 5 years? 

SASE and AI. SASE will render traditional networking tactics and centralized firewalls obsolete, finally bringing networking technologies in line with the rest of the world that has moved to cloud-based, virtual architectures for nearly everything.  AI will allow applications to be smarter and easier to use, and help drive efficiency in every area of businesses. 

8. How does your company stay innovative and adapt to the evolving needs of MSPs? 

We deeply value the relationships we form with our partners. Staying in tune with what’s happening requires an open mind and open ears, and we love to listen, and love to help. We also have a strong drive and ability to engineer solutions to problems, instilled in our DNA by our founder. Combining these two factors fuels Cytracom to deliver powerful solutions quickly, to move nimbly as technology changes, and to adapt to the evolving needs of our channel.  

9. What’s one valuable lesson partnering with The 20 has taught your organization? 

Never undervalue your services. Tim and the team do an amazing job pushing and encouraging its members to work hard, stay focused and take pride in the services and expertise you bring to your clients. It’s an inspiration to witness that guidance yield amazing results for the members.  

10. What’s your company’s spirit animal?

The eagle is a perfect representation of Cytracom’s mission. It represents freedom, strength, and vision. Cytracom delivers freedom to its MSP partners – freedom from stress in an ever-changing security environment, and freedom from support to end users. Strength provided by the new standard in network connectivity and security. And vision as we continually innovate on our solutions and adapt to the changing needs of the MSP. The eagle soars above the clouds with keen eyes and sharp focus, seeing clearly to make wise decisions, rise above the rest and achieve great things.  

Above and Beyond – How to Be a Surprisingly Good MSP

There are a lot of MSPs out here. No one knows the exact number, but recent estimates have put the figure at 150,000 globally and 40,000 in the U.S.

The M&A surge of recent years has led to rampant consolidation, so these numbers might have gone down, but don’t think for one second this means that competition has cooled off.

On the contrary, Datto’s Global State of the MSP Report found that, for the third year running, MSPs across all regions stated that their main challenge was competition – 35%, an increase from 29% in 2022. Finding a competitive edge is more crucial than ever. Find an edge, or get edged out.

If you’re a small to mid-sized MSP, it might feel as though you’ve got an uphill battle on your hands. With the emergence of ‘super MSPs’ – large platform MSPs formed by mergers and acquisitions – a new player has emerged, with capabilities and capacities that our industry hasn’t seen before.

But don’t worry – there’s still room for smaller MSPs to make an impact!

The same report from Datto found that revenue is up for MSPs across the board; most respondents saw a rise in revenue over the last year, with North America taking the lead in revenue expansion. Moreover, a significant portion of MSPs globally reported a revenue increase greater than 10%.

MSPs are growing, but with competition on the rise, standing out and winning new business takes (and will continue to take) innovation, adaptability, and above all else, a commitment to service excellence: to not just being a good MSP, but a surprisingly good MSP – an outstanding MSP.

That’s how we see things at least, and in this blog post, we’re sharing strategies and tips your MSP can use to stand out in a crowded field. These tips are all about being so good it will come as a pleasant surprise to any client who’s lucky enough to partner with your MSP business.

CX is King!

We’ve said this before. In fact, it’s the title of another blog post all about the importance of customer experience (CX) to your MSP’s success. And CX is important, make no mistake: Datto’s report found that “improve customer experience” was tied with “grow revenue” for the top strategic priority among MSP respondents in North America.

You’d better believe the MSP down the street is working hard to improve their customers’ experience, so let’s talk about the true key to CX mastery: your technicians.

When MSPs think about excellent CX, their minds often go to ‘the little things’ – those small, personal gestures that show your clients how much you care. While these are great – never underestimate the power of a handwritten note – a lot of MSPs go ‘above and beyond’ without first making sure things are ship-shape ‘below deck.’

Do you know what your customers want even more than a cool gift basket? Great service – fast, polite, helpful, proactive, professional, etc. And great service starts with your technicians. If you want happy clients, you need happy techs. Your processes and your personal gestures can never be so good that they’ll undo the damage done by rude or careless techs.

Building a team of techs who are ‘all-in’ on your MSP’s mission to provide out-of-this-world service delivery is an ongoing project. If you want techs who treat your clients like people – and not just sources of revenue – then it’s your job to treat your techs the exact same way. Model the behavior you want to see: check in on your techs, spend time with them on the front lines, talk to them about their lives, say THANK YOU and I APPRECIATE YOU – and mean it.

And if you have to fake it, you’ve already lost. If you don’t actually care about your techs as people, you’ve already lost. If you view your employees solely as means to your ends, you’ve already lost.

Pro Tip: Think about your vendor partners to bring clarity to your own CX efforts. Which vendors do you like working with? What do they do to secure your satisfaction and loyalty? Leverage these insights to shape your own CX approach.

Bonus Pro Tip: Think deeply about the KPIs your MSP uses to track technicians’ performance, as the right KPIs coupled with effective feedback loops can do absolute wonders for motivation. Think deeply about how your support desk is structured, too. Beyond the typical ‘three-tiered structure,’ there is an ocean of possibilities. Here at The 20, we recently revamped our entire support structure, and while we won’t spill details here, we will say it has helped us…

• Forge stronger relationships with end clients and with each other
• Achieve a more intimate and in-depth understanding of end clients’ IT environments
• Resolve clients’ issues faster and with less stress!

Surprise, Surprise

Brace yourself for an earth-shattering revelation: If you want to be surprisingly good, be…surprising!

In all seriousness, a tried-and-true strategy for standing out as an MSP is doing things that your customers weren’t expecting, but WILL love. This can be something simple like the aforementioned gift box or handwritten note, but an even more powerful surprise is something that brings real value to their business. Because let’s be honest, your clients didn’t hire your MSP to make them feel warm and fuzzy; they hired you to help them succeed as an organization.

Here are two ways you can wow your clients:

Tailored Training Sessions

Training sessions in general are a great way to demonstrate that you’re truly invested in your clients’ success. But even better are training sessions tailored specifically to their unique needs. Create a customized training session for a client based on your knowledge of their goals, IT environment, workflows, etc. This will work wonders.

Rockin’ Roadmaps

MSPs, in theory, are supposed to fuel their clients’ long-term success with forward-looking IT strategies (in practice, results may vary!). Creating a ‘technology roadmap’ for clients is a common practice, but in our experience, very few MSPs have mastered the art of roadmapping. A common mistake we see: not responding enough to clients’ perceived pain points (i.e., making the roadmap primarily or even exclusively about the projects and problems you think are important). Yes, you’re the technology expert, but your role as an MSP is to help clients achieve their goals.

Pro Tip: Use roadmaps to showcase your MSP’s intimate understanding of your client’s industry. A client likely won’t be wowed by the mere fact that you created a roadmap for them, but they will be wowed if that roadmap shows evidence that you’ve taken a deep dive into their industry, and thought deeply and strategically about their future success.

I Just Called to Say…

Your MSP should conduct QBRs and other scheduled check-ins with clients. However, every so often, surprise them with a spontaneous phone call to check in or follow up about an issue that your MSP resolved. If feasible, the occasional in-person visit can do wonders for maintaining strong personal connections. And don’t hesitate to sweeten the deal by bringing some coffee and donuts.

Good MSPs always check in and communicate with their clients when they have to (when it’s urgent, scheduled, etc.). Great MSPs check in when they have to, and every so often, ‘just because.’

That said, all of this advice should be filtered through nuanced judgment based on your personal relationships with clients. If your gut is telling you a client won’t appreciate something, take that intuition seriously. Your client relationships are exactly that – relationships – and while standardization is integral to success as a managed service provider, there will never be a one-size-fits-all template for keeping clients happy.

The 20 Helps MSPs Be Surprisingly Good

The 20 MSP Group consists of 150+ small and medium-sized independently owned MSPs who share knowledge and resources – including a 24/7 Help Desk/SOC and a battle-tested business model – to grow and scale faster and more easily than they ever could working alone. Running an MSP is a lot easier – and more fun – with The 20 at your side. Just ask Tom, Rocky, Scott, Seann, Bryan, or any of the other MSP owners who’ve joined our group.

Your MSP has the tech expertise. We understand the business side of things. Together, we can go far.

Schedule a call to find out if becoming a member of The 20 MSP Group makes sense for your MSP.

Head over to our homepage to learn more about The 20 MSP Group and how we help MSPs win.

Compliance Matters

How The 20 is Leading the Regulatory Charge

The importance of regulatory compliance for managed service providers (MSPs) has skyrocketed in recent years. In the early days of the managed IT services industry, an MSP’s primary role was that of technical caretaker; we keep your systems running smoothly with an eye to boosting your operational efficiency. Simple enough.

But the rise of cyberattacks – and their subsequent evolution into a pervasive existential threat for businesses of all sizes – led to an explosion of new standards and increasing regulatory complexity. First came the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2022, and following quickly on its heels were PCI DSS (2004) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (2005). More recently, SOC 2, GDPR, and CCPA have emerged as crucial compliance frameworks.

To put this in perspective, if the U.S. regulatory industry were a country, it would be the world’s eighth-largest economy!

One consequence of the ‘regulation revolution’ was the rapid expansion of the role of MSPs to encompass compliance management, a responsibility that requires a thorough understanding of the security landscape, industry-specific regulatory requirements, and risk management more broadly.

This has been nothing short of a paradigm shift; some MSPs have been left behind, while others have adapted with gusto.

Here at The 20, we’re proud to say that we firmly belong to the latter category. We are ‘all in’ on compliance and it’s for one very simple reason:

Compliance and security go hand-in-hand (learn more).

Security requires compliance and compliance requires security, which is why we’ve kept our nose to the grindstone on the regulatory front, achieving significant compliance milestones for The 20, while helping our MSP members and their end clients in their efforts to remain compliant and secure.

Let’s take a look at where The 20 is in its compliance journey – as well as what’s ahead on the regulatory front.

The 20 is SOC 2 Compliant!

To begin, we want to share a major milestone our organization recently reached – The 20 is now SOC 2 Type II compliant!

After completing a stringent 3rd-party audit, we received a resoundingly positive report and unqualified opinion. Translation: we now have robust 3rd-party validation that our security processes and controls all meet or surpass standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

This is a big deal, as very few MSPs are SOC 2 Type II compliant (< 5% according to several sources). More importantly, this attestation reinforces our pledge to clients (and prospective clients):

Your data isn’t just a priority; it’s a sacred trust.

Read the full press release for more details on our SOC 2 Type II compliance.

Compliance: Streamlined & Simplified

MSPs that become members of The 20 MSP Group – our growth platform for MSPs looking for help conquering the ‘business side’ of things – get access to a variety of tools and processes that unlock new growth. Among these business-boosting assets is comprehensive compliance management.

In fact, at the time of this writing, The 20 is engaged in helping 11 different MSPs achieve compliance with 4 different regulatory frameworks, including HIPAA, CMMC 2.0, and GLBA Safeguards. What gives us this kind of bandwidth?

In a word, we’re able to do more than the average MSP because we (a) make compliance a priority, and (b) enlist a cutting-edge cybersecurity and compliance management platform to make compliance projects easier, less stressful, and more reliable for both the MSPs we serve and their end clients. Forget about cumbersome spreadsheets and say hello to the future of compliance management:

• AI-driven recommendations
• Framework crosswalking (mapping one set of standards, regulations, or frameworks to another to reduce redundancies and identify commonalities and gaps between different sets of requirements)
• Tasking automation
• True multi-tenancy and persona-specific reporting

But let’s cut through the jargon and talk about the real benefits of our sophisticated approach to compliance management.

Simply put, the main impediment to successful compliance programs is communication – or miscommunication rather. Achieving a particular compliance standard is a huge undertaking, requiring myriad information exchanges between separate parties. Hunting down relevant information, reporting the successful completion of tasks, and ensuring that everyone is on the same page can get overwhelming – fast!

In fact, among corporate risk and compliance professionals, nearly two-thirds (65%) said leveraging technology to streamline and automate manual processes would help reduce the complexity and cost of risk and compliance management. And yet, 60% of GRC users (individuals responsible for overseeing compliance and risk management within an organization) continue to manage compliance manually with spreadsheets! There’s a lag—and it’s costing organizations precious time and resources.

Our approach to compliance management provides MSPs and their clients with a comprehensive framework for all of their compliance needs. You don’t have to waste time manually organizing data, requesting tasks, and documenting updates. You don’t have to perform complex calculations to determine how much progress you’ve made on a specific standard. With The 20’s help, you can automate huge portions of any given compliance program, keep everything organized and accessible (by authorized parties), and report your compliance posture with ease.

And we’d be remiss not to mention how much these capabilities impress potential clients, especially organizations in the defense, healthcare, legal, and other industries where compliance is fundamental. If you’re an MSP and you’re making a bid to a government contractor who works directly with the DoD, you’d better believe they’ll want to see evidence that you’re capable of navigating complex compliance challenges like a true pro.

Why Compliance Matters

Compliance has a lot of ‘strategic value.’ It demonstrates operational maturity and can provide a competitive edge. We mentioned how a robust compliance posture can help an MSP win clients in industries where data protection is paramount. Simply put, regulatory prowess is a powerful differentiator. But these considerations are secondary to the one undeniable reason why compliance matters:

Compliance matters because security matters. It’s really that simple.

But can’t organizations secure their systems without jumping through regulatory hoops?

In theory, yes. But in practice? Let’s just say there’s a reason even the most experienced airline pilots must meticulously go through checklists before taking off. Could most pilots perform the necessary tasks without the checklist, relying on memory alone? Sure. But the operative word here is probably. When the stakes are as high as the safety of several hundred passengers, ‘probably’ just doesn’t cut it.

And you’d better believe the stakes are sky-high when it comes to protecting data and preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. Cyberattacks are extremely costly, and data shows that they’re only getting costlier; last year the average cost of a data breach ($4.45M) reached an all-time high. Moreover, we’re not talking about individual pilots here, but entire organizations. Compliance frameworks help leadership ensure that best practices and robust controls are being used across the board.

Bottom line – unless there is a dramatic shift in the threat landscape, regulatory requirements are only getting more complex and demanding. The time for your MSP to start proactively developing a sophisticated compliance program was yesterday.

Cool Links

Are you a business looking to partner with an MSP with compliance expertise?

Check out The 20 MSP or schedule a call.

Are you an MSP struggling with compliance, or simply looking for help streamlining and automating compliance management?

Check out The 20 MSP Group or schedule a call.

Thanks for reading!

A Year of Growth

A Look Back at The 20 in 2023

2023 was a big year for The 20 – a year filled with acquisitions, innovations, new partnerships, and tremendous growth. It went by just like that, so we figure we’d better take a moment to slow down and reflect on all that’s happened. Sure, we want to reach new heights in 2024, but not without first pausing to enjoy the view and see how far we’ve come.

So join us, as we recount the milestones and moments that defined our company’s journey in 2023…

The Year in Numbers

Stronger together. More than a team motto, these two words are a perfect encapsulation of what makes our company work. We don’t just work hard; we work together. And together, in 2023, we got a lot done:

Our Support Desk crushed it, closing over 109,000 tickets. We rebuilt our service delivery model from the ground up back in 2021, and now, two years later, we’re reaping the full benefits of these structural changes and experiencing newfound operational efficiencies that make both our technicians’ and our end clients’ lives immeasurably easier.

And speaking of end clients, we’re serving more than ever before. Last year we acquired 13 MSPs as part of our ongoing mission to build a true national MSP with unmatched scale, adding end clients in 46 different states and entering 26 new markets in the process.

To keep up with all this growth, we welcomed 110 new employees to The 20 team. We’re getting bigger, but more importantly, we’re getting better – adding talent and resources so we can aggressively scale our offerings without sacrificing an ounce of quality on the service side.

Our dramatic growth and unique M&A strategy have garnered significant industry attention; in 2023, The 20 was featured in 27 articles and publications, and received multiple industry awards.

We believe an important part of being an industry leader is playing a proactive role in education and thought leadership, and in 2023, we were delighted to host 30 webinars and 25 events, produce 61 videos, and publish 38 blogs. Another bright spot was our world-class marketing team, who produced hundreds of pieces of marketing collateral for MSPs in The 20 MSP Group, helping them stand out in our crowded industry.

Of course our favorite event of the year was our own annual VISION conference, which took place in August and attracted 300+ attendees. The theme for VISION ’23 was taking an MSP from good to great, and we were determined to go above and beyond to give MSPs an unforgettable experience. Even with that lofty goal, we were blown away by how everything came together at this year’s conference. A huge shout-out to everyone who played a part – attendees, speakers, sponsors, and of course, all you MSPs striving for greatness. We hope to see you again at VISION ’24, taking place this August in Dallas, TX.

2023 was also a year of new partnerships and offerings. The 20 teamed up with several industry-leading vendors, including Pax8, CloudRadial, and Zapier, and we launched EasyIT4U a unique month-to-month IT services membership designed specifically for small business owners and solopreneurs.

Finally, in 2023, The 20 achieved a significant milestone by securing its very first US patent, receiving Patent No. 11695779 for “User Management System for Computing Support,” our novel approach to user authentication and the key innovation behind our ID 20/20 software. In the age of cyberattacks, we’re proud to break new ground and offer organizations and individuals a powerful method for repelling social engineering attacks, which continue to wreak havoc in both the public and private sectors.

Lessons Learned

What did 2023 teach us?

Well, it taught us that planning is great, but adaptation is crucial. Plans are pretty, but life’s messy, and success will always require a certain amount (usually a whole lot) of thinking-on-your-feet.

2023 also taught us – or reminded us, rather – that even when competition is stiff, an MSP can always stand out by delivering an unforgettable customer experience.

This brings us to the biggest and most important lesson of 2023, a perennial lesson that we’re always happy to share. Ready?

People matter. If you want true success in this MSP game, put your people front and center. End clients, employees, partners – remember the real people behind the contracts. Because they are where excellence comes from. Not your processes. Not your tools. It’s your people who will make your MSP great.

On that note, we want to close by saying thank you to all of the people who made The 20 great in 2023.

Thank you, end clients, for trusting us with your businesses. You put your livelihoods in our hands and give us a chance to do what we’re passionate about.

Thank you, vendors. This industry is big and complex and impossible to conquer without help. Your expertise and unique offerings make life easier, and your innovations are a constant source of inspiration.

Finally, a Texas-sized THANK YOU to the 170+ MSPs who belong to The 20 MSP Group. When we started The 20, we had a vision for a community of likeminded business owners who push each other to be better. Y’all have become so much more than that, and it’s an honor to know you and grow with you.

Now, who’s ready to kick some a** in 2024?

***

Cool Links

Are you an MSP looking to grow? Visit The 20 MSP Group Page.

Are you looking for excellent IT support for your business? Visit The 20 MSP Page.

Curious about VISION, the most dynamic MSP event in the channel? Check out the VISION ’23 Recap Video or the VISION ’24 page.

The One: An MSP Marketing Lesson

He says it ten times. Four words, four syllables: It’s not your fault.

The line was delivered by the late great Robin Williams in the 1997 film, Good Will Hunting. In the unforgettable scene, Williams’ character, a therapist named Dr. Sean Maguire, helps his patient, Will (played by Matt Damon), achieve a breakthrough by telling him what he needs to hear most. It’s not your fault.

If you want to cut through the noise as an MSP business – if you want to leverage marketing to attract new clients and grow – take a page from Sean’s book and learn to harness…

The Power of One

As an MSP, you face a crowded industry, which means it’s important to take marketing seriously, as it’s what allows you to stand out from the crowd (sales can also be a powerful differentiator). Attention is what you’re after, and marketing’s how you get it.

Now, there might be a lot of things that set your MSP apart, but it’s important to resist the temptation to make your sales and marketing about everything that makes you great, and instead, figure out the one thing you want prospective clients to hear. The one thing you need them to hear. This is your core message. This is your one thing.

Once you’ve settled upon your one thing, the next task is to deliver that message incessantly, clearly, and without a stutter. Don’t dilute your one thing by constantly listing it alongside a bunch of other things. Sean didn’t tell Will “It’s not your fault” plus five other reasons he should allow himself to be happy. He told him the important thing, over and over and over again.

Get Specific

Want “excellent service” to be your MSP’s one thing? That’s a good starting point for a managed service provider – the word “service” is right there in the name! But don’t just say that your MSP has great service. Be specific. How about fast service?

A great way to test the specificity of your one thing is to sloganize it. Would “Fast Service” be a compelling slogan? Eh. How about lightning-fast service? Now we’re getting somewhere.

Let’s say you want your one thing to be “friendly service.” Like “fast service,” this one thing doesn’t really hold up on its own. So jazz it up. You could humanize the message further by telling prospects that your MSP offers “Unmatched Support with a Smile”. Or, if you really want to swing for the fences, say you’re the “Friendliest MSP in the Midwest”! These work as slogans, and in turn, indicate that you’re homing in on an adequately specific core value/benefit.

Specificity ≠ Uniqueness

You want your MSP’s one thing to be specific, but that doesn’t mean it has to be something that’s entirely unique to your business, which is why we’re going with “one thing” over the more familiar marketing concept of a “unique selling proposition” (also, your core message or ‘one thing’ is a slightly broader concept that a USP).

M&Ms aren’t the only candy that melt in the appropriate place. Arby’s isn’t the only fast-food establishment in possession of ‘the meats.’ And yet, these messages are etched into our collective consciousness, and help give these brands a distinct voice in their respective markets.

Furthermore, you don’t, in your marketing materials, need to focus on your one thing exclusively. Just make sure it’s the focal point of your marketing efforts, the recurring message that comes to mind whenever potential clients (as well as current clients) think of you.

Why This Matters Now More than Ever

With the AI revolution in full swing, it’s easier than ever before to generate content quickly and cheaply. But if you have experience working with large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, you know that these artificially intelligent assistants tend to … overshare. They’re trained on vast amounts of data, and it shows.

For example, go ask ChatGPT: What core benefit does an MSP offer?

In mere seconds, it will have typed up a whole list of possibilities (when we tried this experiment ourselves, we got back 10 answers, including “24/7 support,” “cost efficiency,” and “cybersecurity.”

In this age of information abundance, the risk is not in the scarcity of content but in the overwhelming excess. When AI can help you say everything, your job becomes figuring out how to say the right thing. And the right thing is often one thing: a single message to which you are wholly and unapologetically committed.

A Thought Experiment

Here’s a useful ‘thought experiment’ to help you craft and refine your core marketing message:

Imagine your prospect. The key here is to imagine a real person – a living breathing individual with hopes, dreams, fears, etc. Picture them, sitting across from you.

Now, let’s say you have 30 seconds to tell them about your MSP. What do you say?

You could try to rattle off your MSP’s manifold virtues – but good luck fitting all that into 30 seconds without sounding like an auctioneer hopped up on caffeine.

Alternatively, you could embrace the elegance of simplicity and choose the one thing you think will have the greatest impact.

We can’t tell you what that one thing is without knowing more about your MSP. But chances are, it’s less about how great your MSP is, and more about what your MSP can do for the prospect. Make it about them. Paint a vivid picture of what life will be like with your MSP at their side. Speak to them. Speak about them. And then, when you’re done, listen.

Struggling with the ‘business side’ of running an MSP?

Many MSPs find themselves wrestling with the challenges of sales and marketing, crucial elements for sustained growth. That’s where we come in.

When you join 170+ MSPs and become a member of The 20, your MSP gains access to our world-class marketing department. While you excel in IT services, we’ve got your back on the business front. Just ask Bill.

We work with small and medium-sized MSPs committed to excellence and hungry for growth. If that sounds like you, let’s chat!

Schedule your call with The 20 today.

CX is King

Crafting Top-Notch Customer Experience as an MSP

Customer experience matters. In fact, it matters a lot. In fact, it might be the single most important aspect of your managed IT services.

We’re big fans of what the renowned business leader Kate Zabriskie said about the importance of customer experience:

“The customer’s perception is your reality.”

Think about that. In most situations, perception and reality are contrasted. Reality is truth, perception opinion. Reality is real, perception is not. But this gets turned on its head in the context of business – especially business founded on service.

Your MSP provides a service, and the core of service is making clients feel a certain way – namely: valued, taken care of, and yes, even loved. Maya Angelou’s timeless wisdom is relevant here:

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

None of this is to say that you shouldn’t strive to provide objectively good service and support – the sort of service and support that accords with best practices and meets, if not exceeds, industry standards. Just keep in mind, none of that matters if your clients hate you; if they believe you’re not doing a good job or perceive your work to be subpar, they will, eventually, leave you for another IT provider.

So let’s talk about Customer Experience (CX), because it doesn’t matter if the “customer is always right” (they’re not) when it’s the customer who decides your fate as an MSP.

Preaching to the MSP Choir

We’re not going to spill a lot of ink trying to convince your MSP that CX is vitally important for success in the managed services space. If you don’t believe this already, there’s not much we can do for you. Fortunately, if you’re an MSP executive or key decision-maker, there’s a good chance you do believe this:

Kaseya’s latest comprehensive study of MSP trends – Global State of the MSP Report: Trends and Forecasts for 2024 – surveyed MSPs in North America and found that 44% identify “improving customer experience” as the top strategic priority, sharing the top spot with “growing revenue” as the highest priorities recognized by MSPs.

This is hardly surprising, as MSP respondents identified, for the third consecutive year, heightened competition as their biggest challenge. When competition is stiff, the need to stand out becomes imperative, and how does a company in any industry distinguish itself? Well, a lot of ways, but providing a top-tier customer experience is undeniably one of the most – if not the most – effective ways to stand out from the crowd.

So instead of preaching to the choir and lecturing you on the crucial role that CX will play in your future success, we’re going to zoom in on what CX mastery involves – the nuts and bolts of keeping your clients not only safe, secure, and technologically thriving, but happy.

Without further ado, here are some key CX strategies your MSP can leverage to reach new heights.

Make it About Them

There’s an old marketing proverb – “People don’t buy drills; they buy holes.” In slightly less ‘proverby’ terms, people don’t care about products, services, and features; they care about what those products, services, and features can do for them. In short, they care about benefits.

Along similar lines, clients don’t want to hear you go on and on about how great you are – especially if that means hearing you expound on all the technical details of your services and offerings. So what do they want to hear about?

How great you can help them be! This one is obvious, but often forgotten in the course of sales, onboarding, and so forth. So, make a commitment to keeping the focus on your clients from the get-go.

And don’t make the all-too-common mistake of talking more than listening. To be blunt, learn to shut up so your clients can tell you what they want and need, what their biggest pain points are, etc. As important as solutions are, you can’t develop satisfying solutions without first giving clients the time and space to let you know what it is that needs solving.

Optimize Your Onboarding Process

First impressions are just as important in business as they are in life. Start out your relationship with a new client on the wrong foot and prepare for an uphill battle to get back on the right track.

For this reason, it’s crucial that your MSP become master onboarders. Great MSPs are obsessed with perfecting their onboarding process. That doesn’t mean creating an unadaptable process and expecting that ‘one size’ to fit all your clients and their unique needs. Prioritize personalization to show that you care, and for the sake of all that is good, do not forget to check in after onboarding is officially complete. This brings us to our next key strategy…

Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

It’s so important we had to say it three times. Communication is the name of the game in the managed services realm. If you’re not a great communicator, work on your skills – or hire people who excel in this area. When hiring a pet sitter, you don’t just want someone to take good care of your fur babies; you want someone who will let you know how your animals are doing. For the most part, your clients share this wish. That said, no two clients are the exact same, so strive to tailor your communication to their preferences. Some clients want you to fill them in on every detail, while others prefer a more hands-off approach. That’s why the next strategy is so fundamental to CX…

Get to Know Your Clients – And Not Just as Businesses!

A lot of MSPs agree that it’s good to get to know your clients on a human level, but when it comes to putting this idea into practice, very few MSPs truly nail it. That means if your MSP can forge that strong personal connection, you will be a breath of fresh air in the IT provider landscape.

So how do you get to know your clients? By talking to them, yes, but more importantly, by listening to them. This harks back to the first strategy we shared, and indeed, the ability to listen is a thread that runs through all of these CX-enhancing strategies, as listening skills are fundamental to successful social interactions, and in turn, the cornerstone of a healthy client-MSP relationship.

Think Outside the Corporate Box

Some MSPs tick all the boxes traditionally associated with white-glove service but fall short in going the extra mile with personal gestures that truly convey genuine care. While communicating with clients through official business channels, such as automated email sequences during escalations, is undoubtedly beneficial, what elevates your service from good to great is the personal touch. Consider going above and beyond by surprising clients with thoughtful gestures, like a handwritten note. These small, unexpected touches leave a lasting impression and demonstrate a level of commitment that goes beyond the standard corporate approach.

If you have any doubts about the power of a handwritten note, read up on the greatest car salesman of all time, Joe Girard.

Don’t Forget About Metrics

CX is subjective – it’s about feelings – and thus, it cannot be measured in any kind of objective way…right?

Wrong! While it’s important to listen to your clients and gather their feedback informally (i.e., by simply conversing with them), it’s essential to complement this with measurable metrics. Objective data, such as response times, CSAT scores, and issue resolution rates, provides a quantitative foundation for evaluating and enhancing the customer experience. Striking a balance between the emotional and the measurable is key to delivering a comprehensive CX strategy.

The 20 Helps MSPs Become CX Pros

The 20 helps MSPs become CX pros, as well as marketing pros, sales pros, scalability & standardization pros, vendor management pros, cybersecurity pros – the list goes on! We offer a comprehensive success platform with everything you need to thrive as an MSP, all in one place. There’s a reason we have 170+ MSP members across the nation – our system works!

If you’re struggling to grow your MSP and want some help conquering the ‘business side’ of things, schedule a call with The 20 today. We can help you, just like we helped Bryan, Scott, and Seann.

Now get out there and make your clients happy campers!

Keeping IT Current

How to Nail Software Updates as an MSP

As an MSP, your job is highly multi-faceted, and that’s a large part of your appeal – organizations hire you to take on all (or at least a large chunk) of their IT duties, so they can focus on, well, not IT.

This do-it-all-so-they-don’t-have-to is perhaps best exemplified by software updates, one of the peskier IT tasks organizations struggle with – or worse yet, ignore altogether. Your updating expertise and patching prowess are superpowers, not to mention strong selling points, so make sure you…

• (a) Develop and document a robust software update program: a set of processes that collectively encompass all aspects of software updates, from planning to deployment to testing.
• (b) Communicate and demonstrate the value of your software update program to clients and prospects.

Some MSPs take care of (a) but neglect (b), an all-too-familiar pattern in the managed services space: we work our tail off taking care of clients, but don’t receive recognition for our efforts because we don’t effectively convey everything that we’re doing, much of it behind the scenes.

Another common mistake we encounter is MSPs developing a program for keeping systems updated, but failing to enshrine it in documentation. This is particularly common among smaller MSPs, who don’t always feel a pressing need to document their core processes, preferring to keep them ‘stored in the head.’ But this can hamper growth in major ways by limiting scalability.

Also, as well-documented processes become more and more the norm, you’d better believe prospective clients will notice the absence of robust documentation, and count it as a strike against your MSP.

Now that we’ve discussed some general objectives related to software updates, let’s delve into the nitty-gritty and talk best practices.

Put Security First

The threat landscape is a veritable minefield – and has been for quite some time. And while it would be nice to write that we are, slowly but surely, winning the war against cybercrime, it’s just not true. Things are getting worse.

Every MSP should be adopting a ‘security-first’ mindset, and such a mindset should definitely inform your approach to software updates. So, create a program that prioritizes security updates. For example, if there’s a security patch available to fix a known, actively exploited vulnerability, you should prioritize and apply that patch first, even if it means temporarily delaying less critical updates.

Harness Automation

As your MSP grows, managing updates for multiple clients can start to become a big time drain. That’s why you want to utilize automation tools and scripts to streamline the process. However, keep in mind that while a good MSP automates effectively, a great one will strike the perfect balance between automation and manual intervention. This is where knowing your clients’ businesses can work wonders.

For instance, understanding that a client in e-commerce experiences a surge in traffic during the holiday season may lead you to temporarily adjust the update schedule to avoid potential disruptions. Bottom line – talk to your clients so you can get to know their businesses and their unique needs.

Stick to a Schedule

This is one of those things that almost every MSP will fully endorse in theory. But in practice? Let’s just say that we’ve encountered a lot of smaller MSPs that plan to stick to a strict updating schedule, but let things slide when they get busy.

When creating your timetable for updates, you’ll want it to reflect the security-first mindset we discussed earlier. For some concrete advice on how to schedule in light of security prioritization, check out UC Berkeley’s Patching and Updates Guidelines.

You should also strive to create client-specific schedules. A one-size-fits-all approach is limited, especially if your client base is diverse and spans multiple industries, each one with its own compliance landscape to navigate. We understand that customization is time-consuming, but the investment in client-specific schedules pays off in terms of improved security, client satisfaction, and trust. It shows that you’re attuned to your clients’ unique needs, a hallmark of excellent MSP service.

Test to Be the Best

Software updates can be a double-edged sword for organizations. While they promise enhanced features and security, the lack of rigorous testing can lead to unexpected disruptions or vulnerabilities. This is where your MSP can shine.

Testing software updates meticulously is a specialized skill, and most organizations’ in-house IT staff can’t carry out testing nearly as effectively as an MSP dedicated to the task. Make sure your clients not only understand that you’re committed to testing updates before deployment, but also, the value of testing – i.e., avoiding of severe disruptions to everyday operations and protecting essential software applications and data systems.

If you have the bandwidth, consider setting up a lab environment in which to test patches for functionality and compatibility with your client’s existing applications and systems.

Be in the Know

As an MSP, you want your clients to view you as the ultimate authority on all things IT. Needless to say, it would look pretty bad if one of your clients caught wind of a crucial patch from a vendor before hearing about it from you. So stay informed about the latest software vulnerabilities and corresponding updates. Also, make sure to maintain an accurate and up-to-date inventory of each of your client’s IT assets, as doing so will help you provide timely and targeted support, as well as strengthen one of the most valuable aspects of your managed services business: client trust!

Final Thought

You want your clients to take software updates seriously – to not roll their eyes and ignore the latest notification. But keep in mind, threat actors are quick to use your clients’ desire to

remain updated against them, and a common phishing attack involves masquerading as legitimate software updates or security alerts. It is in this complex security landscape that your role as an MSP becomes even more critical. Your job isn’t simply ensuring efficient and secure software updates; it’s also training your clients to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent update requests.

As with so many things in the IT realm, the name of the game here is communication. Talk to your clients. Engage them in ongoing discussions about the importance of keeping their systems updated and secure.

And if you need help, get in touch! The 20 is a business development group for small and medium-sized MSPs looking to get to that next level, whether that’s $500k, $1M, or even $5M in annual recurring revenue. We give you the tools, processes, and expertise to become a major player in this fiercely competitive industry. Just ask any one of our 170+ MSP members – growing a large and profitable MSP business is a lot easier with The 20 at your back!

Schedule your call today.

Phear the Phish: How to Get Your Clients to Take Phishing Attacks Seriously

The goal of this article is simple: we want to help your MSP convey the seriousness of phishing attacks to end clients, so they take a more proactive and vigilant stance. As an MSP owner, you know all too well just how big of a problem phishing is for the business world, and how good threat actors have gotten at digital deception. So we’re not going to waste any breath convincing you.

Instead, we want to share some resources that we think will help you light a fire under your clients’ proverbial derrieres. Here’s how to get your clients to… PHEAR THE PHISH!

Stats Are OK, But Not the Best

Stats can be a good way to draw attention to the problem of phishing. They’re objective (well, depending on their source), serious-sounding, and they showcase your expertise and involvement in industry matters. Here are some good ones pertaining to phishing (gathered from here). These might give your clients pause:

84% of organizations fell for a phishing scam in 2022.

Employees at small businesses are 350% more likely to be targeted by phishing than those at enterprise-level companies.

A CEO, on average, is targeted by a phishing attack 57x/year.

But these statistics, by themselves, aren’t likely to create any radical shifts in your clients’ behaviors. It’s not your clients’ fault; it’s just how the human brain works. Study after study has shown that we remember information presented in a story much better than information presented in a purely factual manner.

Jennifer Aaker, a behavioral scientist at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, sheds light on this phenomenon:

“When most people advocate for an idea we think of a compelling argument, a fact or a figure. But research shows that our brains are not hard-wired to understand logic or retain facts for very long. Our brains are wired to understand and retain stories.” (source)

So true. Stories make an emotional impact, and that’s precisely the sort of impact you need to make if you want your clients to actually start behaving in a new way – in a more skeptical, alert, and vigilant way, to be specific.

To help you convey the serious threat that phishing attacks pose to your clients’ livelihoods, here are some resources that we’re confident will elicit a visceral response.

The Friendliest Hacker in the World

If you want your clients to wake up and smell the phish, there may be no better video on the internet to show them than this one (we recommend watching the whole video, but the link takes you to the craziest part).

It features Jessica Clark, an ‘ethical hacker.’ She meets with Kevin Roose, a journalist, at DEFCON, the world’s largest hacking convention held annually in Las Vegas. Roose gives her permission to demonstrate the power of social engineering. Her challenge: try to obtain Roose’s email from his phone provider.

What ensues is truly impressive, as well as downright terrifying. You can see the shift in Roose’s demeanor as Clark effortlessly persuades the customer service rep to divulge the journalist’s sensitive personal information. When Clark finishes, smiling and triumphant, Kevin says, “Holy sh–!”

We think your clients might have a similar reaction.

Tell Them About Roger Grimes

Like Jessica Clark, Roger Grimes is an ace hacker. And like Clark, Grimes uses his skills to help rather than hurt people. In his 30+ year career in cybersecurity, Grimes has encountered a lot of folks who are confident they can’t be phished. He then tells them to give him two weeks to see if he can’t successfully phish them. Want to know Grimes’ success rate?

100%.

That’s his own claim at least; over multiple decades, Grimes has never failed to phish someone who challenges him to try and do so. Not once.

This is scary. When a determined hacker decides to phish you, there’s a good – no, a great chance – they will succeed. As Grimes puts it, “Anyone can be tricked into clicking a link. We are just human.”

Even Grimes himself isn’t immune to phishing. So, in the spirit of using stories to motivate your clients to get proactive about cybersecurity, tell them this one:

Grimes got hired by KnowBe4, an IT security company, shortly after publishing Data-Driven Computer Security Defense. Grimes calls the book his “magnum opus.” Needless to say, he’s proud of it, and stands behind the claims made in that book, such as this one:

Social engineering is the leading root cause of malicious breaches, involved in 70-90% – and second place isn’t even close.

Anyway, Grimes received an email that appeared to come from his CEO. To give some context, Grimes knew his CEO had read his book and had hired him largely because of how much it had impressed him.

And yet, the email, which was sent out to the entire company, said that a new survey showed “unpatched software” to be the primary root cause of malicious breaches. It also provided a link to the survey details.

What?! Unpatched software! No way! That’s only a root cause in 20-40% of breaches!

Grimes was, as he himself admits, “incensed.” So he hurriedly clicked the link to see what preposterous study was peddling such a lie.

If he’d taken his time and hovered over the link, he would’ve seen that the URL was: “ThisisafakeURLtotestyou.”

This is a great story – read the extended version in Grimes’ own words here – because it illustrates the fact that anyone – even the savviest security professional – can be phished. It also shows the role that emotion plays; Grimes clicked the link because he was angry.

But if you tell your clients that anyone can be phished, might they not throw their hands in the air and say, “Well I guess I’m screwed then. What’s the point of trying?”

This is a legitimate concern, so it’s crucial to emphasize that cybersecurity isn’t about ‘all or nothing’; it’s about probability. It’s about mitigating and minimizing risk. So tell your clients this:

“No matter what you do, you can be phished – you’re only human, after all. But if you do nothing – or way less than is recommended by security experts – you WILL be phished.”

Emotion Leads to Motion

Emotion is at the heart of why phishing is so powerful. Like any type of social engineering, phishing preys upon our psychological tendencies – on our very humanness.

However, emotion is also at the heart of defending against phishing attacks. It’s not enough to get your clients to appreciate the dangers of phishing on an intellectual level. You have to get them to feel it. And you do that by sharing stories, not just stats.

Emotion leads to motion. The question is what type of motion. Emotions can lead your clients to click unsafe links. But if you do a good job of conveying the dangers of phishing, their emotions can also lead them to do the opposite: to be hyper-vigilant and ultra-skeptical of any message they receive with links, attachments, or requests for sensitive information.

And remember, the stronger your relationship with a client, the more readily they will consult your MSP before taking any questionable actions online. So build those relationships!

And get them emotionally involved in their own digital safety, because that’s the only way to empower them to make the right choices.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for another cybersecurity-themed blog next week, as we wrap up #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth.

Stay safe out there, y’all!

Getting Real About MFA

Undeniably a fantastic security strategy, multi-factor authentication has its limitations. But is that something you should share with clients?

In a perfect world…

There is no cybercrime, donuts are good for you, and your MSP doesn’t exist because technology takes care of itself.

In a less-perfect-but-still-pretty-good world…

You help one of your clients, Dorothy’s Donuts, set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect the company’s email account. One day, a cybercriminal decides to mess with Dorothy and uses advanced password-cracking methods to figure out her email password. But when the troublemaker tries to log in, it’s MFA to the rescue. Crisis averted!

Meanwhile, in the real world…

Dorothy gets an email alerting her of suspicious activity on her business email account. She’s prompted to provide her email password plus a one-time passcode sent to her cell phone. The email looks legit, so Dorothy complies. She feels good entering the one-time passcode. This will PROVE it’s me, she thinks.

And just like that, poor Dorothy’s handed over the keys to her email to the threat actor, whose plan is to send emails out to Dorothy’s customers asking for donations ‘during a difficult time.’

The Moral of the Story?

Train and educate your clients!

Cybersecurity is about people, so make sure you’re taking care of yours. That means sharing information, conducting training sessions, and being honest.

Don’t tell your clients that MFA will solve all their security problems or throw out some statistic about how it stops 99% of cyberattacks (we’ll talk about this stat in a second).

So what should you tell them about MFA? If you ask us, the truth is always a good place to start.

And the truth is, MFA is an essential security strategy. The concept behind it is simple and powerful: it’s a lot harder for hackers to obtain two or more ‘proofs’ of your identity than just one (usually just your password).

Does MFA make things slightly more inconvenient on end users?

Yes. Logging into an MFA-protected account takes longer than logging into one without MFA protection.

Is MFA still worth having, despite the slight inconvenience it creates for end users?

Absolutely. The benefit of enhanced security provided by MFA far outweighs the minor inconvenience it adds. Remind your clients that while it’s a lot harder for hackers to obtain two or more ‘proofs’ of your identity than just one (usually your password), it’s only a little bit harder for you. And that’s how it should be; security should involve a fair tradeoff between safety and convenience, and MFA hits the sweet spot – it makes things a lot safer and only marginally less convenient.

So by all means, sing MFA’s praises – just don’t tell your clients that it repels 99% of all cyberattacks. The origin of this bogus stat seems to be two similar-sounding, albeit not quite as impressive statistics.

The problem with the 99% claim isn’t just that it’s a misrepresentation of actual statistics; another issue is that it characterizes MFA as some sort of “super tool” – “the answer to all your security problems…or 99% of them at least.”

And this is precisely how you want your clients not thinking about cybersecurity. If they assume one tool or method will do all the work for them, they may not exercise proper vigilance or consistently employ best practices, creating vulnerabilities that experienced threat actors can easily exploit.

Hard Truths

The lessons here have all been pretty simple. Tell your clients the truth – about MFA, and everything else, too. They can handle it. They can even handle the hard truths about MFA, like…

MFA isn’t infallible

It’s highly effective, but not a complete (or anywhere near complete) defense against cybercrime. But don’t tell your clients just this; also highlight specific ways that threat actors can bypass MFA:

• Prompt Bombing
• Phishing
• Social Engineering, etc.

MFA creates inconvenience

While some MFA solutions are more user-friendly than others (we’re particularly proud of our ID 20/20 software for offering a seamless user verification process), there’s no such thing as an MFA solution that creates zero inconvenience. It’s an extra step by definition – no reason to pretend it isn’t.

MFA is necessary

Perhaps the hardest and most important truth of them all. MFA won’t solve all your security problems, but you still need it. If you’re looking for a clear analogy to help illustrate this point, talk about seatbelts: people need to wear seatbelts – or really should, at least – but that doesn’t mean seatbelts offer complete protection in traffic, or that you don’t need to do other things to stay safe on the road, like pay attention, follow traffic rules, go the speed limit, etc. Using MFA is like wearing a seatbelt.

In some case, MFA is literally necessary, as it’s now common for cyber insurance companies to require MFA for cyber coverage. If this is what it takes to get your clients using MFA, so be it.

Closing Thought – Relationships Matter!

Let’s say your client gets hit with a prompt bombing attack. All night long, their cell phone buzzes and lights up with notifications: one authentication request after another. At 5 am, exhausted and annoyed, they…

Well, that depends. Does your MSP have strong relationships with clients? Do your clients like you? Do they feel comfortable picking up the phone and calling your help desk – even at 5 am?

When people say cybersecurity is about people, this is what they mean – this exact moment when your client encounters something strange and suspicious. What do they do?

If they have a strong relationship with your MSP, if they’re comfortable calling you at the drop of a hat, if they like and trust you, then…

They will call you about it first, before taking any other action.

This is just one example that shows the importance of building strong relationships with your clients – one of many. When you establish genuine relationships with clients, it not only makes things easier (like sharing hard truths about MFA); it also enhances overall security by fostering transparency and teamwork.

Communication, collaboration, cooperation. Even with the latest AI-fueled innovations, these remain the most powerful security tools at our disposal.

But how do you build strong MSP-client relationships?

Lots of ways – but this blog post has focused on a particularly important aspect of building strong relationships: telling the truth! It’s not always easy, but if you’re consistently transparent with clients, they will come to appreciate your honesty and trust you. And when that happens, they will be much quicker to accept a hard truth from you than an ‘easy lie’ from the MSP down the street.

So keep it real, stay safe, and stay tuned for more security-focused content as we celebrate #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth here at The 20.

Learn more about The 20 MSP Group and how we help small and medium-sized MSPs find success in our fiercely competitive industry.

The Friendly Face of Cybercrime

The recent MGM breach serves as a wake-up call for businesses of all sizes – especially MSPs – emphasizing the urgent need to defend against social engineering threats.

As an MSP owner, you’re no stranger to the cyber threat landscape – how it’s constantly evolving and shifting as cybercriminals find new ways to make honest, hardworking citizens’ lives a living nightmare. But one truth remains, and it’s a truth we’re revisiting in this blog post:

Cyberattacks are not always launched by an act of technical wizardry or digital deception. Oftentimes, they begin with a simple phone call, and wear a friendly face – and that’s what makes them truly scary.

The Friendly Face of Cybercrime

For most people, the word “hacker” conjures an image of a guy typing furiously in a dark basement, pausing only to rub his palms together and cackle like a movie villain.

But the truth is, cyberattacks often wear a much friendlier face – and that’s what makes them so effective.

Take the recent attack on MGM – a devastating breach that has cost the casino giant $52 million in lost revenue (and counting). Plus, think about the reputational damage!

It started with a 10-minute phone call. The threat actor – purportedly part of the ransomware gang ALPHV – found an MGM employee on LinkedIn, called the help desk pretending to be that employee, and asked for a password reset.

And just like that, this cybercriminal gained access to MGM’s network.

Social Engineering – The Biggest Threat to Your MSP

The threat actors responsible for the MGM breach used “social engineering” (a fancy term for tricking people).

Social engineering doesn’t rely on technology; it relies on human nature – on how much trouble we have saying “no” to someone who is polite, convincing, friendly.

It turns out we have A LOT of trouble with this, which explains why 98% of cyberattacks use some form of social engineering!

And when 43% of all cyberattacks are on small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), having a robust defense against social engineering isn’t just a good idea; it’s a necessity.

ID 20/20 – Your Solution Against Social Engineering

You can’t change human nature, but you can give your MSP a tool that stops social engineering attempts in their tracks.

Our patented ID 20/20 software is purpose-built for MSPs, delivering a user-friendly, cost-effective, and supremely effective defense against social engineering threats. We understand that MSPs require robust tools not only to protect their own sensitive data but that of the businesses they serve, and failure to do so could lead to catastrophic breaches with far-reaching consequences. You are in effect a gateway to a whole network of organizations and a veritable treasure trove of sensitive information.

How does it work?

ID 20/20 enlists MFA (multi-factor authentication) to verify a live caller’s identity.

When “John” calls your MSP’s help desk, how do you know it’s really John?

If you have ID 20/20 software, a code is sent to so-called John’s email or cell phone. If “John” can’t verify the code, there’s a good chance he’s not really John.

The whole thing takes less than a minute, requires zero downloads, and will protect your MSP – and your clients – against the most common type of cyberattack. We’re confident that if MGM had implemented a solution like ID 20/20, they could have sniffed out the threat actor right away and saved themselves millions.

We’ve made ID 20/20 cost-effective for small and mid-sized MSPs, convenient for your end clients, and the last thing hackers want to encounter when they come for your business.

Click here to discover why ID 20/20 is quickly becoming the go-to live caller verification tool for SMBs across the country, and a popular choice for MSPs of all sizes. If you’re interested in using ID 20/20 at your MSP business, you can schedule a call and we’ll go from there!

Do we hope your organization decides to use ID 20/20 as a defense against social engineering attacks? Of course! We’re proud of the tool and know it makes MSPs and the businesses they serve immeasurably more secure.

But whatever you decide to do, please – PLEASE – don’t do nothing. Social engineering attempts are rampant and they’re wreaking havoc in both public and private sectors. Make today the day you took a stand.