IOT FOR SMBS
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Standing out With many resellers offering IoT devices, those that do need to make themselves stand out. “Resellers can make themselves stand out by focusing less on the technical details and more on the benefits,” says Keith. “Also, explaining how the device cuts costs, makes work faster, or creates a better experience for customers. That’s what matters most to small business owners.”
currently with home-grade IoT devices being deployed for business uses, and with businesses not knowing they need to encrypt the traffic channels that their IoT data travels across. “Both of those things boil down to staff training,” he adds. “A reseller of our services once failed at these basics and didn’t change the default password on the IoT device they deployed via us. This led to a threat actor finding it and used it as a vector for a DDoS, which caused us a lot of issues.” Markus says resellers need to ensure their customers deploy IoT solutions that have appropriate security built in and follow best practices. “From an MSP perspective, the growth of IoT only adds to the appeal of remote security monitoring services,” he adds. “Across the network, businesses should apply zero-trust principles and enforce secure, multi-factor authentication. Firmware updates must always be applied immediately, and employees should be trained to understand the risks with IoT. “Ideally, IoT networks should be segmented from core systems, but that won’t always be possible. Where IoT devices are to be deployed extensively, monitoring for anomalies and logging behaviour is to be recommended.” Rachel notes that whole networks need to be protected – every device and user in the workplace and working at home or remotely. “A good hardware-based firewall or unified security gateway – like one of our USG FLEX devices – should be deployed at the entry/exit point to the network,” she says. “We strongly advise SMBs to make use of an MSP partner that can monitor and manage their security remotely.” Keith adds that security can feel overwhelming for smaller companies, which resellers need to be aware of. “The best resellers keep it simple and easy to manage, automatic updates, clear instructions and quick support,” he adds. “That way, businesses don’t need a big IT team to feel safe”
Contributors
Rachel Rothwell
zyxel.com
Harry says it comes down to service. “All IoT resellers fundamentally sell the same products, so the service-wrap is really important,” he says. “Other resellers have developed a niche in specific industries, but basically they need to be good at selling to their chosen market and keeping those customers sticky.” Markus agrees that resellers with expertise in a particular industry or a specific IoT solution will have a distinct value proposition especially if they provide a complete solution that spans initial consultancy through to installation and support. “Making security and compliance central to the value proposition is another way to differentiate – here again though, you’ll need industry- specific knowledge,” he says.
Harry Mason
masoninfotech.co.uk
Leon Huang
rapiddirect.com
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