Allan Santana, Business Development

Holistic, hassle-free security solution empowering MSPs to offer SMBs streamlined security solutions.

New research has revealed that 57% of small and medium business respondents in the US have been victims of cyber security breaches, with 44% believing their antivirus solution is all they need to protect their business, employees and data. In addition, 25% are not training their employees on cyber security best practices.

The research was carried out by Guardz, a US-based cyber security platform now available in the South African market through Solid8 Technologies - a cyber security software distributor in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Allan Santana, Business Development for MSPs targeting SMB success at Solid8 Technologies, says the research reveals how vulnerable SMBs are, and believes the situation is similar in South Africa. “Worryingly, many SMBs either underestimate the importance of robust security, believing they're too small to be targeted, or they put too much trust in their current defences. No business is too small to fly under the radar when it comes to cyber crime. The research found that just over half of SMBs (51%) know that antivirus solutions are not enough to protect their businesses and data, and as many as 89% want cyber security insurance to mitigate their risk,” he says.

“Cyber security has become a major concern and challenge for small and growing businesses who have limited budgets, resources, time, and training, while existing cyber security solutions on the market are too cumbersome, too complicated and costly, leaving a gap in the market.”

Bundled Guardz solution fills the gap for SMBs Santana, who is driving the launch of Guardz in South Africa, says Guardz fills the gap, with a simple, yet advanced bundled cyber security solution that allows managed service providers (MSPs) to secure their SMB customers, simply and cost effectively.

“Guardz is built for MSPs, using multi-tenant architecture and native AI technology to streamline their cybersecurity offerings and help grow their businesses,” he says.

“For SMBs, partnering with an MSP who offers Guardz high-grade cybersecurity protection consolidates key cyber defence and risk mitigation approaches and simplifies their cyber security process, saving time and resources, and strengthening their overall cybersecurity posture,” Santana says.

The Guardz AI-driven platform with automated detection and response capabilities secures email, cloud data, browsing and endpoints, including cyber awareness and phishing simulations, as well as external threat scanning. The holistic platform is designed to protect customers from all attack vectors, including email, endpoints, cloud data and posture, external exposure, leaked credentials, employee negligence, and web traffic. Offering aggregated user views, automated remediation and real-time risk management, with Microsoft365 and Google Workspace integration. Their recent partnership with SentinelOne will further enhance automated detection and response capabilities at scale.

MSPs can generate reports summarising risk across an SMB’s entire digital footprint, or create ROI reports quantifying the potential financial impact of a cyber attack and employee exposure.

Santana says: “Guardz is a very simple and cost-effective way to address multiple risks with one unified platform. It covers nine major areas within the same bundled price - a unique and niche offering.”

Guardz also paves the way for MSPs to bundle cyber security with cyber insurance, or for SMBs to demonstrably bring down their risk posture to negotiate a better rate on cyber insurance with their own insurance providers, he says.

To become a Guardz MSP partner, or find an MSP partner to support your SMB, please contact Solid8 Technologies at info@solid8.co.za