Don’t let you be next.

Who are you? You’re an MSSP – a Managed Security Service Provider, offering SOC and Consultancy services to a wide range of organisations in your target market. You are dedicated to protecting them from the ever-intensifying threat of cyberattacks and potential threats, ensuring a robust security infrastructure.

Over the last couple of years, so many UK-based MSSPs have either gone under or been acquired, with the resultant synergies that often lead to job losses. Just like Adarma, which went into administration last week, resulting in the loss of almost 200 jobs after 16 years of trading.

It should be a boom market for managed security service providers, shouldn’t it? Yes, it should be, but sadly, it isn’t. Making a profit as an MSSP is incredibly hard. You only need a couple of customers to walk away, and your viability is threatened.

Competition to win new customers, from small businesses to mid-sized corporations, is stiff, placing downward pressure on pricing and reducing win ratios. So a little churn, and you are suddenly back to where you were 3-6 months ago. Combine that with the fact that you are planning ahead and have likely grown your staffing levels – historically the only way to scale – and you now have an increased cost base against lower revenues. This could affect both your core business activities and efficiency.

Add to that the constantly growing cost and scarcity of experienced, qualified cyber staff, and you have a perfect storm brewing.

Compound all of that with the loss of investor confidence, and you really are in trouble. These challenges are why SecQube developed our AI-driven platform, revolutionising SOC operations and enhancing MDR services.

AI? Oh no, not that!? Much media hype offers negative or cautionary comments about the projected impact of AI—no jobs for humans, increased unemployment, and so forth.

But let’s take a slightly different view. What if, by deploying AI technology, you could streamline your operations and transform a challenging environment into a managed one? This might result in some jobs being lost or redeployed, but by doing so, you could save an even larger number of jobs and preserve the business, albeit in a slightly altered state. Surely that has to be a positive outcome.

As executives and directors, we have a responsibility to look after the best interests of all stakeholders—founders, investors, staff, customers, suppliers, etc. No doubt, an ecosystem of other businesses that support your operations would also feel the fallout.

AI isn’t solely a threat; it could be seen as a saviour in certain circumstances, especially in maintaining security controls and patch management.

The same applies to enterprises and government departments that run their own SOCs, as well as MSPs who want to offer advanced security services to their customers but lack the necessary skills. Harvey, our AI Assistant, can resolve many of these challenges, handing control back to the people, not the financials. The new way to scale includes MDR providers and third-party providers leveraging AI effectively.

Don’t wait and become the next corporate carcass the vultures swoop on. Contact SecQube today to transform your SOC operations and enhance your cybersecurity posture.

Written with personal experience still fresh in my mind.

Rick Flood

COO, SecQube