As MSPs and MSSPs, we know that the best hardware and software can only go so far if our clients and their employees don’t follow cybersecurity best practices or adhere to regulatory compliance requirements.
After all, it takes only one uninformed employee to click on one malicious link to compromise an entire system. If your clients don’t know how to prevent cybersecurity incidents, you can’t put out the fires fast enough to keep your customers safe.
Not to mention, if word gets out that one of your clients has its sensitive data compromised or got into regulatory hot waters, your reputation could be at stake — whether you’re at fault or not.
As such, cybersecurity awareness training should be an integral part of any cybersecurity suite. Here’s what you should know about incorporating it into your service packages.
The Benefits of Offering Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Cybersecurity training can help organisations meet various government regulations (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA) and customer requirements. It educates employees about the impact of cybersecurity incidents (e.g. data breaches) to help them make informed decisions and take responsible actions.
Meanwhile, building a culture of cybersecurity awareness can benefit MSPs and MSSPs in many ways:
- Spend less time and fewer resources on remediating incidences so you can do more with less more profitably.
- Build relationships with stakeholders and decision-makers to improve customer retention and increase customer lifetime value.
- Gain insights into a client’s organisation to identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities and expand the account.
- Increase the effectiveness of your services—when your clients are safe, they’re more likely to tell others about your services.
- Drive sales and increase revenue by offering more services to current customers and winning new accounts.
The Challenges of Developing a Cybersecurity Awareness Program
Many MSPs and MSSPs recognise the advantages of offering cybersecurity awareness training to their clients. But they also realise that it’s easier said than done when the rubber meets the road.
Developing content is a time-consuming and labour-intensive undertaking. The cost of hiring writers, editors, graphic designers and videographers can add up quickly. Then, you need to invest in building and maintaining a platform for your clients to access the training materials.
Additionally, you must continue to invest time and resources in maintaining and updating the content. This is particularly challenging since the regulatory landscape is fast-changing, and you must invest heavily to ensure that all your content is up-to-date.
The costs involved in building a cybersecurity awareness program from scratch make it challenging for small- to medium-sized MSPs and MSSPs to sell the offering at a competitive price while staying profitable.
Offer a Cybersecurity Awareness Program With Minimum Upfront and Maintenance Costs
The good news is that it’s possible to reap the benefits of offering cybersecurity training while bypassing the many challenges involved in building and delivering the content.
You can partner with a reputable provider that offers training programs for resale. You can even white-label the content to strengthen your brand presence and build trust with your clients.
An effective cybersecurity program is more than just delivering content. Monitoring progress, generating reports, and providing support are essential for success.
If you decide that reselling awareness training is right for you, here’s what to look for in a provider and its program:
- A comprehensive range of information security topics pertinent to your clients’ industries. These include phishing, remote access, password management, physical security, and incident reporting.
- Simulated phishing attacks to reinforce the training and ensure its ongoing effectiveness. This also allows you to show how the program is creating improvements for your clients.
- High-quality, engaging content produced professionally to facilitate learning while reinforcing your brand image and credibility.
- Progress monitoring capabilities to identify employees who lag in their training. You can follow up to make sure they don’t become the weak link in the cybersecurity chain.
- Mechanisms to measure real-life results so you can demonstrate the ROI of the training program and increase retention rates.
- Pre- and post-sale support to help you deliver an outstanding customer experience and high-quality training to all your clients.
Integrate Cybersecurity Awareness Training Into Your Offerings
When you select a training program for resale, make sure it will integrate well with your existing offerings. Also, the provider should give you extensive implementation support so you can maximise the program’s effectiveness.
Look for a training program developed by a vendor that understands the inner workings of MSPs and MSSPs. For example, RedQor offers extensive services to help MSPs and MSSPs run comprehensive cybersecurity programs. We know how an awareness training program fits into your business model to help you deliver the best results and a cohesive experience.
Learn more about our cybersecurity awareness training and get in touch to see how we can help you incorporate this essential service into your existing offering profitably.