Cost-cutting and consolidation is expected in nearly every major industry as a result of the global economic slowdown. Although the budget for maintaining cybersecurity posture is more defensible than many other expenses, it will likely see some downturn as well. At the same time, companies have continued to adapt to the new work-from-home reality, which not only shifts assets outside of their perimeter, but also accelerates the transition to new digital tools and workflows.
For value added resellers (VARs) focused on cybersecurity, these changes don’t have to mean that their business declines. In fact, VARs with the right approach can use this opportunity to strengthen their strategic value to their customers, coming out of the slowdown far ahead of where they once were.
At Balbix, we’re growing our base of partners with exactly this type of strategy in mind. Over the last several months, we’ve been working with CISOs and their teams to more deeply understand the nuts and bolts of the various jobs that they need to do in order to be successful in their roles – everything from vulnerability scanning to attack surface management. We analyzed everything from board reporting to incident response and software patching.
The goal? Help our customers (and yours) do their jobs more efficiently and more effectively through a sweeping redesign of the Balbix platform. The timing of these new feature updates turned out to be quite fortuitous, as many of the updates can aid in enterprise cost cutting and consolidation efforts.
So what does this mean for you, as a VAR? It means that while your customers are reallocating budgets and cutting vendors, you have a message (and product) to bring to them that resonates with their current priorities, and simultaneously allows them to communicate internally, to the board and senior executives, in a quantifiable, data-driven manner that increases their ability to retain/refocus their team and their budget.
Effectiveness of Controls
One example scenario is a CISO being asked to defend the effectiveness of various controls that they have in place. Most CISOs would struggle to bring data and financial justification to such a discussion. With Balbix, effectiveness and risk impact reporting is automatic, allowing the security team to see, and report on, overall cyber risk in financial terms that the board understands.
Effectiveness of Programs
Another question might be determining where certain infosec programs, such as vulnerability management programs, are doing well, and where they are not – the basis for a decision on where to improve or support processes and programs. Some organizations might view this by division or business unit, location, or any number of breakdowns. They might also view by type of attack vector, which gives critical insights into what you’re best protected against, and what you need to improve. Your partnership with Balbix can ensure that once again, data drives discussions and decision making.
Cybersecurity Spend Justification
Justifying increased spend is another area where infosec teams struggle. The enterprise attack surface has changed considerably throughout the pandemic, so threats have changed as well. Not only have attackers attempted to capitalize on the COVID-19 disruptions, but employees and their devices have moved outside of the perimeter. If you propose new controls to your customers, are they able to quantify the impact of those controls on breach risk reduction? With Balbix, they can quickly and easily see how new changes and controls impact breach risk, helping to justify a potential increased spend, even if the organization as a whole is cutting costs.
Now is the perfect time to engage with Balbix. We’re committed to ensuring that enterprises are able to transform their cybersecurity posture, and that our partners are able to build their businesses, even in trying economic times. Reach out and let’s have a discussion about building your business through partnership with Balbix.
