Why MSPs and MSSPs Should Use Open XDR

Desktop infected scanner

For MSPs and MSSPs, the rising number of cybersecurity threats can be overwhelming. Prevention is no longer enough. You have to focus on detection and response technologies to stay ahead of the game. The many tools available today are both a blessing and a curse. While you can stitch a number of them together to cover most potential threats, you’d also likely run into the “too many cooks” situation:

The inefficiency and potential confusion often lead to slow detection and response. The long attack dwell time can translate into substantial damages. The good news is that you can use an open Extended Detection & Response (XDR) solution to tie everything together. 

Why MPSs Should Use Open-XDR Technologies

An XDR solution offers cross-layered detection and response to automatically correlate data across email, endpoint, server, cloud workloads, and network to improve threat detection. Here’s how Open XDR can benefit you and your clients: 

Minimize Delays and Confusion Caused By Duplicate Alerts

When you have multiple threat detection software running, you’d likely get many alerts that can be traced back to the same root cause. XDR uses AI-powered technologies to analyze the alerts and correlate activities, so you’ll get fewer but higher-fidelity alerts. Your team can focus on investigating high-priority items and help your clients identify threats sooner to minimize damage. 

Connect the Dots with a “Single Pane of Glass” View

XDR technologies allow engineers to evaluate an entire chain of events all in one place, which provides the context necessary for accurate decision-making. Since your clients and team can see and act on the same information in real-time, you can streamline communication and increase the level of transparency to improve efficiency and deliver a better customer experience. 

Reduce Repetitive Tasks with Automation 

Automated root cause analysis correlates data from multiple sources, which is a time-consuming, error-prone, and labor-intensive task when done manually. You can also automate many types of investigation, so your team can become more productive and focus on activities that will deliver strategic value to your clients.  

Expand Your Service Offering and Drive Revenue 

An XDR solution allows you to add a SOC as a Service offering, which is in high demand among mid-market customers. You can become more competitive by providing comprehensive security analysis services.  

How To Choose an Open XDR Platform

Here are some key attributes to look for when evaluating Open XDR technologies: 

Integrating Open XDR into Your Security Stack

An XDR solution’s ability to provide a complete view of a threat hinges upon the availability of accurate information, which is funneled into a centralized data lake from all the security layers within a clients’ IT infrastructure. As such, you should implement a process to take a detailed inventory of all the components. This will allow you to develop a holistic view of the entire system and ensure seamless integration of the various threat detection software. 

While XDR software can streamline workflow and improve efficiency with AI-driven automation, it does take time for the machine learning model to gather data, make refinements, and strengthen its capabilities. You should set realistic targets and expectations, such that your team can take the process one step at a time to reap the long-term benefits of an accurate machine learning model. 

Ready to add XDR to your MSP offering without jumping through the hoops? 

We’ve got you covered. Our complete SOCaaS solution incorporates Stellar Cyber Starlight, an intelligent security operations platform that uses Open XDR. It enables our MSP and MSSP clients to identify real security issues, improve response time, and offer a trusted AI-driven SOC service to their customers. 

Book a demo today to see how we can help you expand your offering without all the legwork.