Organizations are increasingly adopting hybrid and multicloud environments to leverage their advantages and deal with the socioeconomic changes of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent acceleration of digital transformation. The global lack of security experts, the sophistication of threats, and the complexity of security solutions make it challenging for organizations to adequately protect these environments. Managed security service providers (MSSPs) offer an answer for enterprises' needs, taking advantage of the expertise and knowledge of their veteran security teams, their infrastructure, and comprehensive portfolio of services to mitigate cyber risk at a fraction of the cost of an in-house SOC.

Managed security’s value proposition resonates with organizations in the Americas, because it allows enterprises to focus on their business without neglecting security. Consequently, the Americas MSS and PSS market continues to grow, with more than 120 competitors across North America and Latin America, with a lot of players participating, even with a small footprint, in both regions.

The market is populated by different types of companies: professional service firms which leverage their consulting pedigree to provide top-tier consulting services, telecommunication companies that leverage the resources of their larger business organization to find growth opportunities and develop their portfolios, and pure-play cybersecurity or MSS-focused organizations that specialize in a few solution categories but have built expansive portfolios across the years.

As MSSPs seem ideally suited to deliver on most of the current cybersecurity market needs, growth drivers and restraints will force providers to evolve in consideration with these needs. External pressure from the MDR/mXDR spaces, buyer confusion stemming from marketing messages, and the fierceness of the competition will disproportionately affect MSSPs that are not investing in new technologies. Conversely, MSSPs that understand crucial trends in the space, and go above and beyond to deliver unparalleled service will unlock new growth opportunities to succeed in this complex market.

Author: Lucas Ferreyra