To start, let’s all be clear about the definition of an MSP.  An MSP is a managed service provider.  Helion is an IT/cybersecurity MSP.  More specifically, Helion is an organization composed of technical IT and cybersecurity professionals.  It’s the skill of this team of technical professionals that makes it possible to provide auto and heavy truck dealers with outsourced monitoring and management of a dealership’s entire IT environment.  In a nutshell, it’s the MSP’s responsibility to ensure that their client’s IT environment is always running at peak performance and that their systems, data, and finances are always secure.

Why Should Your Dealership Consider An IT/Cybersecurity MSP?

Interest in MSPs is growing rapidly.  According to research performed by JumpCloud, only about 34% of organizations surveyed currently rely on an MSP to manage their IT and cybersecurity.  However, it’s estimated that by 2025 60% of all organizations in the U.S. will be dependent on an MSP.  Why are businesses flocking to MSPs and abandoning the traditional in-house IT model?

• The Rise in Cybercrime – China and Russia are two of the top 5 countries that produce cybercriminals. Many of the cybercriminals in these countries are supported by their governments.  As tensions between the U.S., Russia and China escalate so too does the incidence of cyberattacks emanating from these countries.  Additionally, the cybercriminal is deploying new business models – like the Initial Access Broker and Ransomware as a Service – to make it easier for anyone to become a cybercriminal.  The democratization of cybercrime coupled with geopolitical tensions have spawned an explosion in cybercrime that will continue to get worse for the foreseeable future.  To protect your dealership you need skilled cybersecurity professionals on the job all day, every day.  Do you have a team of technical cybersecurity professionals on staff 24x7x365?
• Government Regulations – Consumers are tired of their data being compromised by the cybercriminal and are demanding that government officials act. This has led to legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the revised FTC Safeguards Rule.  These new regulations require that businesses implement IT/cybersecurity best practices.  These practices have been created by the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  The implementation of these best practices requires technical IT/cybersecurity expertise which many businesses – including auto dealers – do not have in-house.
• Technical IT/Cybersecurity Talent Shortage – Technological advances and the growing cybersecurity threat demand that dealerships have trained, certified technical expertise managing and protecting their IT environment. IT/cybersecurity talent is increasingly hard to find, hard to keep, and very expensive.  Presently, there are only enough cybersecurity professionals in the U.S. to fill 68% of the cybersecurity jobs available.  An MSP’s business depends on their ability to recruit, train, and keep IT/cybersecurity technical expertise.  Therefore, the MSP is adept at tapping into this high-demand talent pool since doing so is a core business function for an MSP.
• Save Money – Results from a recent CompTIA survey reveal the about 50% of businesses that outsource their IT and cybersecurity to an MSP save between 25% and 50% on their annual IT costs. MSPs can spread the cost of high-quality technical expertise and best in class tools and processes across their entire client base.  This dilutes the expense to any individual MSP client.  MSPs also have exceptional buying power – which leads to greater discounts – when it comes to buying essential services and hardware.
• Faster Deployment of New Technology – The pace at which new technology becomes available speeds up over time as each generation of technology improves over the last. This leads to an ever-increasing rate of progress from version to version.  To keep up with these changes, your IT/cybersecurity team must remain properly trained to leverage technological advancements and they must also have the bandwidth to deploy new technologies and cyber defenses as they become available.  MSPs have teams of people available to stay up to date on new advances in technology and cyber defense and to ensure that their clients always stay ahead of the cybercriminal.

To be more efficient, to operate more securely, and to comply with new government regulations your dealership needs a team of trained, certified technical professionals.  In 2023, regulations, technological advancements, cybercrime, and the shortage of skilled IT/cybersecurity professionals make a solid case for reassessing who is shouldering your dealership’s business critical responsibility of maintaining and protecting your IT environment.