The time to strengthen your cybersecurity Go-To-Market strategy is now

Cybersecurity has become make or break for organisiations, with 66 percent of Australian businesses experiencing a cyber incident in the last 12 months^[1]. Missing the mark on security can have far reaching impacts for business and reputation, putting continuity, staff and client wellbeing, operations, processes, and intellectual property at risk.

It’s clear cybersecurity is no longer a box to tick, but a critical responsibility that sits beyond management, HR or CIO level. It is a duty of care that involves the entire organisation and that means responsibility has extended with us, as IT providers, too.

Businesses of all sizes are turning to IT providers to strengthen their cybersecurity posture. Tech Research Asia indicated 47 percent of Australian businesses don’t have a team in place to direct, investigate and respond to security incidents.

The opportunity for IT providers to strengthen cybersecurity go-to-market strategies is pressing. It requires action now.

Our Dicker Data team work closely with world-leading security vendors to provide solutions that help partners to demystify risk when selling cybersecurity solutions, develop comprehensive solutions to protect customers, and implement ongoing testing to prevent attacks. Our value-added services ensure our partners maintain a competitive edge and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape.

The partner opportunity and vulnerabilities

Cyber-attacks and threats have become more frequent and sophisticated – caused by a number of factors such as infrastructure expansion, the rise of bring your own device (BYOD) models and rapid artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.

The latest data from Tech Research Asia reveals, 80 percent of Australian and New Zealand IT and Security leaders are acknowledging their cybersecurity effectiveness is failing.

Moving to the top of the business priority list, 90 percent of organisations are planning to spend more on security in the next 12 months^[1], demonstrating increased budget allocation on security and an opportunity to capitalise on the increased reliance customers have on IT expertise. Additional market research identified vulnerabilities of cybersecurity include skills availability, human engagement, complexity of solutions and lack of visibility.

By coupling the most comprehensive range of cybersecurity vendors, solutions and access to the industry's most highly-certified sales and technical experts, Dicker Data has created the leading destination for partners looking to scope, design, and deliver best-practice cybersecurity solutions to customers.

Strengthening your cybersecurity go-to-market strategy

With the threat landscape rapidly evolving, and cybersecurity a fundamental aspect of the modern business landscape, helping solve your end-customers cybersecurity challenges is what Dicker Data does best, providing you access to the tools and enablement that drive business growth. To build and strengthen your go-to-market strategy, Dicker Data acts as a strategic partner and an extension of your IT business so you can simplify cybersecurity, create a meaningful and tailored strategy and implement tools and tactics that cut-through.

A three-phased security practice model: 

1. Turnkey. As partners explore or start their cybersecurity selling journey. Investment upfront is often minimal and capability is dependent on outsourcing. This includes security-operations-centre-as-a-service (SoCaaS), outsourcing managed services and relying on support from vendors for the tools and expertise.
2. The next phase is Hybrid. Implemented as partners evolve, sales are closed and revenue strengthens. This includes taking on internal investments with hybrid SoC, hybrid managed services, joint sales calls, co-branded campaigns, level 1 support in-house and escalated advance support to vendors.
3. Finally, DIY. IT providers become self-sufficient and IT becomes in-house. This means capabilities are matured, you'll have your own presales team, internal 24x7 SoC, in-house managed services, sales and marketing and wholly owned tech support.

The right model will depend on the customers and vendors the partner works with. Dicker Data work closely with partners to ensure the go-to-market strategy is bespoke and aligns with growth goals. Think about where your security practice sits today vs where you want it to be tomorrow and in the future. 

Using a framework as an entry point to cybersecurity

A cybersecurity framework is a good place to start, and should be done every three months and serve as an engagement model that’s simple, easy to communicate and execute with customers. The model must be the right fit, tailored to every IT business and used as a guide to build a more secure and resilient IT infrastructure for customers.

Success starts at an audit of the customer’s environment, followed by testing (pen testing, SecOps, Health Analysis, etc). This puts partners in a stronger position to use the results from the audit and consult customers on risk. Thereafter, IT providers can design, scope and deploy solutions to address the weaknesses identified in the initial audit/health test. Employee training and awareness and ongoing compliance will then follow the implementation.

The threat landscape continues to evolve, so partners need to be ongoingly proactive. This framework forms an end-to-end solution where IT professionals develop/understand what their core competencies are and build on their offerings by leveraging Dicker Data's Distribution resources and forming partnerships with complementary vendors. 

Vendor and human education in place

The lack of a unified cybersecurity strategy is the number one reason organisations fall victim to ransomware attacks, according to WatchGuard Technologies research. The rise of multivendor solutions and layered security is critical. No one solution protects an entire environment – and every end-customer has their unique environment. Use your preferred framework to identify vulnerabilities – and then consider where you can layer security measures. As Australia’s leading ITC distributor representing the world’s leading vendors, Dicker Data’s partners have an entire network and solutions portfolio that address how to best tackle the different layers of cybersecurity – this is an opportunity to start a conversation. 

Don’t forget the Human Layer. Progressive organisations are moving beyond outdated compliance-based awareness campaigns and investing in holistic behaviour and culture change programs designed to provoke more secure ways of working. To help partners, Dicker Data has a strong working relationship with the Cyber Aware team. Training is their core competency and we are in a unique position to assist with providing industry-leading Security Awareness Training through a purpose-built, white-label platform for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT Resellers. 

One of the major advantages of this platform is that it enables partners to utilise Cyber Security Training as a means of generating leads.

How to build success in cybersecurity - here is your checklist

1. Build a comprehensive cybersecurity offering focus on breadth and depth
2. Build flexible pricing models to meet customer budget requirements
3. Invest in leveraging your base to fuel your growth
4. Choose the customers who fit with your business and decline the rest
5. Automation and AI are the path to profitability
6. Safeguard your investments by building a trusted ecosystem

How do we address this together? 

Selling cybersecurity is all about adding value. Dicker Data has created the leading cybersecurity destination for partners, helping solve customers' security challenges with a team of industry experts helping partners at the end-to-end sales and implementation cycle. Partners can leverage knowledge and stay focused on winning more business and meeting customers’ needs.  Here is how we address the market position and opportunities together:  

• Access to a comprehensive range of technology solutions
• Presales & Solution Architects for every technology
• Knowledgeable and accessible sales support
• Tailored training and certification for your staff
• Enabling you to enter new markets & reach new customers
• Deploy secure and compliant solutions with ease

The time is now to strengthen the cyber security posture of Australian and New Zealand businesses with 80 percent of their market acknowledging their cybersecurity effectiveness is failing. If you’re not talking to your customers about cybersecurity, one of your competitors could be. Dicker Data is an extension of your business and team — we're in every opportunity with you, to make sure your solution offering wins every time.

Watch the live recording: Channel Insights & Partner Opportunities

*Filmed on Wednesday 17th at Dicker Data's Cybersecurity Symposium in Sydney. 

[1] Tech Research Asia