In the technology sector, certain concepts tend to appear, seemingly overnight, in some instances. Some of them might shift current thinking. Within months, you might see these concepts at work in the form of new technology or protocols in a workplace setting.
Zero trust for MSPs is an example of that. We’ll break down what that means in the following article.
What Are MSPs?
MSP stands for a managed services provider. Basically, as an individual or company, you outsource the responsibility to maintain various processes and functions that you need for a business to operate. In other words, you’re relying on a company, or sometimes a single person, who can reduce your budgetary expenditures and improve your operations.
What is the Zero-Trust Model?
Some people also call the zero-trust model perimeterless security. This is a particular way to approach your IT systems. If you’re implementing zero trust for MSPs, you should first make sure you understand all the zero trust basics and what this model can do for you, as well as its potential drawbacks.
As a security framework, if you’re going with the zero-trust model, that means you’ll need to authenticate and authorize all of your users at all times, whether they’re all working from one location or from many. This second option happens a lot more these days with either remote workers or a hybrid work model where your employees work from home part of the time and from the office on some days as well.
Zero trust means you’re operating under the assumption that you cannot automatically trust anyone either outside or inside your computer network’s perimeter. You’re verifying everyone and everything that goes on inside it to prevent any hacks or data breaches. It operates on the DTA concept, meaning that you don’t trust anyone.
Why Would You Implement Zero Trust for MSPs?
Now that you understand these two terms, you can probably start to imagine why the two concepts would go together in a modern workplace. Let’s say that you’re heading up a company that offers your clients certain services. You’re communicating with and serving your clients through a bespoke computer network. Your software suite is also proprietary, meaning no one else has one just like it.
You want to offer your clients services in a way that virtually guarantees that no one but you and them will ever see the communication between you. If they’re working on a new product or service, they need to keep that away from prying eyes until it hits the market and it’s ready for mass consumption.
To make sure of that security, you can implement the zero-trust model. At the same time, you increase your own company’s perceived value. You can have a great experience with your client, and they should rave about you to other entities that will hopefully want to do business with you at some point down the line.
Is Setting Up Zero Trust Easy?
Most organizations at least consider setting up a zero-trust model these days. There are a couple of things you should know about it before you move forward, though.
The potential cost is the first item worth mentioning. It’s true that those costs even out over time since what you put in place eventually becomes legacy technology. At the onset, though, you’ll need to come up with a significant cash outlay to put zero trust components in place.
You’ll also have to take the time to onboard all of your current employees. The zero-trust model takes a little time to learn how to use.
If you have a team of pretty tech-savvy individuals, then they should be on board and using the elements that make up a zero-trust model relatively quickly. If you have some employees who aren’t the best with new technology, it might take them a little while to learn how to utilize it.
Should You Set Up the Zero-Trust Model for MSPs?
As a managed services provider, setting up the zero-trust model often makes sense. Many entities recognize that this way of conducting your business can block out many hacker attacks and potential breaches.
These breaches, when they happen, can cost you more than money. They can cost you business since your reputation can take a hit.
Because of this, you should probably at least look into the zero-trust model. Whether you implement it or not will depend on exactly what your company does and how you have structured it.
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