Automation drives revenue, job satisfaction in MSSP sector

D3, a firm specialising in smart security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR), has released the findings of its 2024 survey on managed security service providers (MSSPs). The survey highlighted that automation is a significant factor in driving both revenue and job satisfaction among MSSPs. Approximately two-thirds of MSSPs reported increased revenue and profit margins due to automation, while an impressive 87% of employees noted improved job satisfaction.

The survey, which gathered perspectives from MSSP professionals on automation, artificial intelligence, challenges, and growth opportunities, painted a comprehensive picture of the current state of the MSSP industry. The key findings shed light on the role automation and artificial intelligence play in the industry and the challenges MSSPs face beyond security operations.

Among the noteworthy findings, 82% of respondents indicated their companies use a high or medium level of automation. While 87% reported a positive effect on job satisfaction, 67% mentioned that automation had helped their business increase revenue. Additionally, 64% cited improvements in profit margins, and another 64% acknowledged automation helped differentiate their business from competitors. Notably, only 4% mentioned that automation was employed to replace human workers.

Artificial intelligence is also making its mark, with 80% of respondents affirming its usage in their companies. However, the application of AI appears to be predominantly for enabling business functions such as sales and marketing, rather than being primarily focused on security operations.

Interestingly, MSSPs indicated they struggle more with administrative tasks than with security operations. The most commonly cited challenge was effective communication and collaboration with clients. Reporting, client onboarding, and client communication were identified as the top three tasks consuming excessive time within organisations. The primary security challenge, threat hunting, was ranked fourth.

Stress remains a concern in the cybersecurity field, with 80% of respondents acknowledging its negative impact on the wellbeing of those in the industry.

The survey also revealed that MSSPs are looking to expand their customer bases through other managed service providers. 67% of respondents indicated plans to grow customer numbers through the sector of managed service providers (MSPs) and IT services, while 64% are targeting enterprise customers and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). This focus on growth within existing service sectors could be due to a competitive market for new customers, as highlighted by the higher percentage of respondents planning to increase revenue via new services sold to existing customers (80%) rather than through completely new customers (69%).

Pierre Noujeim, Incident Response Researcher at D3, commented on the findings, stating, "The results of this research project tell us that automation is a crucial tool for MSSPs and that capabilities that reduce administrative burdens—such as fast client onboarding, streamlined client collaboration, and automated reporting—are some of the most important things we can provide our many MSSP customers."

The survey was conducted from May to July 2024 and received close to 2,000 responses. A significant majority (71%) of the MSSPs represented were based in the USA, with others from Canada, Brazil, Australia, Denmark, India, and the UK. The respondents comprised 44% cybersecurity practitioners, 29% non-security executives, and 27% security leaders, such as Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Security Operations Centre (SOC) managers. The survey encompassed MSSPs ranging from those with over 100 employees (56%) to those with fewer than 25 employees (22%).