News in the Channel - issue #37

SAAS SECURITY

Future The SaaS security market is expected to continue to evolve rapidly over the coming year. “The SaaS security market will continue to be shaped by flexibility, scalability and long-term trust,” says Simon. “Customers will increasingly expect open, unified platforms that avoid vendor lock-in and can easily evolve with changing requirements. “Built-in cybersecurity and continuous software delivery will be large factors for customers, and it’ll soon be a baseline expectation for hybrid deployments rather than a differentiator. Reseller success will depend on aligning with vendors that prioritise enterprise-grade security and future-proof architectures.” Barb Huelskamp, VP of global channel sales and alliances at Solarwinds, notes that IT teams are under constant pressure to modernise while keeping systems secure, reliable and compliant – and that pressure isn’t going away. “Flexibility, complexity and cost will remain core considerations for resellers in the year ahead and beyond,” she says. “Hybrid environments are here to stay, especially as AI becomes more deeply embedded across IT operations. SaaS will continue to play an important role, particularly in reducing the operational burden of manual upgrades, patching and scaling. For many organisations, staying current through SaaS is also a meaningful way to reduce long-term security risk. “Resellers have a clear opportunity to move beyond product-led conversations and step fully into a trusted advisor role. Customers need help simplifying increasingly complex environments, adopting technologies like AI responsibly, and making long-term decisions that balance security, cost and flexibility. As a result, the bar for partners is rising. Technical competence alone isn’t enough resellers must be able to translate strategy into day-to-day execution across security, complexity and cost.” n

“Resellers should focus on continuous visibility across endpoints and SaaS applications, enforcing secure configurations and applying least- privilege access by default. Supporting more automated and autonomous IT operations can further reduce manual effort and speed up response, helping customers operate more securely and with greater confidence. There is also growing demand for managed services that provide ongoing oversight rather than one-off projects.” Adrian notes that customers are no longer looking for standalone tools; they want demonstrable outcomes. “Many MSPs are now combining continuous SaaS posture management with tighter governance of identities, integrations and AI, and, where browser-based access dominates, applying CASB-style session controls to reduce risky data movement and data leakage,” he says. “Increasingly, buying decisions are influenced by measurable results such as reduced risky access, faster containment of SaaS incidents and improved audit readiness. “For resellers, SaaS security is moving from a bolt-on service to a core operational capability. Those that can translate growing SaaS complexity into continuous, measurable protection will be best positioned to capture long-term value in an increasingly SaaS-first world.” Anton says resellers should anchor every conversation on specific high- impact controls: “Who has admin access, how OAuth apps are governed, what the external sharing tools are and how quickly a compromised session or token can be shut down. That’s where incidents start and where damage is contained,” he says. “The strongest reseller move is packaging this as an ongoing motion. Baseline hardening with continuous posture checks and incident readiness is critical because customers don’t have the time or staff to keep revisiting every SaaS setting across dozens of apps.”

Contributors

Simon Cook

genetec.com

Customers will increasingly expect open, unified platforms that avoid vendor lock-in... “

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Danny Hemminga

tanium.com

Barb Huelskamp

solarwinds.com