SolarWinds, the Colonial Pipeline, JBS. . . cyberattacks continue to make headlines, bringing greater threat to businesses, your customers and you. When a breach happens, it can be devastating to any organization, big or small. So, what responsibility do you have as a partner to help keep your customers protected? Some might say a great deal, given that businesses depend on you to help and advise them.
Along with focusing on your customers’ growing IT needs and challenges, it will serve you well to be talking security throughout your conversations, even if it is not your focus or primary business.
Keep Customers Informed
Bigger breaches make headlines but there are many smaller attacks that happen daily to businesses of all sizes and across all industries. At minimum, you need to keep your customers informed about the dangers and risks of not having proper cybersecurity in place or not frequently evaluating existing security measures. Smaller businesses might be naïve, thinking that they wouldn’t even be on a cybercriminals radar. In fact, according to a BullGuard survey, 60% of SMB owners think their businesses are not a likely target for cyber criminals. Wrong! SMBs are often a prime target, with one in five small businesses experiencing a cyberattack or data breach. Once a breach occurs, 46% of SMBs have 5-16 hours of breach-related downtime based on a Cisco’s 2020 CISO Benchmark Study. You should be sharing these insights with your customers. To learn more, download The New World of Cybersecurity eBook.
Continue to Meet Customer Needs
Your focus is on what matters most to your customers, and whether they know it or not, cybersecurity should be a business priority. Baked into elements throughout the IT environment, cybersecurity is an integral part of any successful IT plan. When discussing new IT solutions, address the security component, making sure to point out any security features, concerns or gaps that you identify. Avoiding disruptions and keeping your customers’ businesses up and running is top priority for them and for you. They’re coming to you because they need solutions, from network and connectivity to cloud infrastructure and communications, to improve their business operations and that includes an underlying need to keep their business secure.
Connect Customers with Cybersecurity Providers
It’s not a heavy lift to sell cybersecurity solutions once you broach the topic. It’s as simple as connecting your customers with the right provider, and by being a TBI partner, you have an entire portfolio here to search. If you have questions on which provider would be the best fit, you can reach out to your TBI Channel Manager to discuss the customer and their needs. The Channel Manager will give recommendations, provide comparisons and gather quotes. A member of the Tech Gurus team can also be involved in discussions to provide more technical expertise. Bringing in an accredited cybersecurity expert will provide the best care for your customer and help create a strong cybersecurity plan, while also helping further establish you as a valuable resource.
Bottom Line
Customers depend on you to keep them knowledgeable on IT and business technology matters and cybersecurity is part of that. As a partner, you need to be doing all that you can to help customers leverage solutions that enable top performance and efficiency for their business. Any cybersecurity threats or attacks could derail operations, cause negative customer public opinion, and hurt the business’ bottom line. Your biggest responsibility as a partner when it comes to cybersecurity is to keep your customer informed and connect them with the right solutions as needed.
To learn more about the cybersecurity resources available to you as a TBI partner, visit our security solutions page.
If you’re not yet a TBI partner, signing up is easy and gives you access to an abundance of solutions and resources from sales support and marketing to advanced technical resources and post-sales support. Click here.
Security Resources to help you sell
Cybersecurity for Finance
Cybersecurity for Healthcare
Cybersecurity for Retail
A Cybersecurity Event Plan
What's New in Cybersecurity
Don't forget to check our recently updated security ebook, The New World of Cybersecurity.
To learn more about what security solutions you should be discussing now with your customers, contact your TBI Channel Manager.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a Senior Marketing Manager at TBI, Stephani spearheads campaign strategy and marketing programs designed to drive awareness around emerging technologies and generate demand amongst our providers. Her primary focus is to support and help develop business units at TBI including Omni Center, Channel Sales Enablement, Partner Referral Program and Tech Guidance. You can reach Stephani at sfitzsimmons@tbicom.com or connect on LinkedIn.
