Four big statements from industry leaders at CRN's MSP Transform

The event in London hosted discussions on the biggest trends in the industry, cybersecurity and the increasing move towards everything-as-a-service

MSP bosses from across the UK gathered in London this week for CRN's latest MSP transform event, which delved into the biggest issues facing the channel.

The event in Aldgate saw discussions on the biggest trends in the industry, cybersecurity and the increasing move towards everything-as-a-service.

Here are the biggest statements from those that took part in the panel discussions…

‘I look forward to some regulation in our industry, with some really heavy penalties' - Andrew Allen, CEO of Abbyss

Back in January this year the UK government proposed new laws to ramp up cybersecurity standards for MSPs, including fines of up to £17m for those which fail to put in place effective cybersecurity measures.

During a panel discussion, Andrew Allen, CEO of Abbyss, said that MSPs are not a "silver bullet", adding that clients "entrust" MSPs to look after them.

He said: "I look forward to some regulation in our industry, with some really heavy penalties. Clients entrust us to look after them and advise them and I speak to many organisations who in our space who think they are experts.

"Even though I think we do a pretty good job - we're not a silver bullet, there is no way of protecting ourselves from this. So, it comes down to governance, strict controls, operational maturity of your organisation and the clients that you work with as well.

"In entrusting us, we have to have really high standards and we need a way to manage that."

‘Maybe partnering with an organisation that has specialised expertise is the best route, because it's faster to get to the solution that you need' - Sam Woodcock, senior director of cloud strategy and enablement at iIand

As part of the panel discussion regarding outsourcing security, Sam Woodcock, senior director of cloud strategy and enablement at iIand, felt partnering with an organisation may be the best route forward after being asked about building cybersecurity services in-house.

He said: "I think when you make that decision between doing it internally or looking towards MSP or a specialist in that area, its about the access that you have to expertise. Globally there's a shortage in terms of security skill sets and a large demand for security.

"I think of statistics in the US, it's 600,000 job openings related to cybersecurity and over a million people actually in that industry working. So, when you set out to solve your challenges away from security, can you do it better in house? Or is it maybe better to partner with somebody who already has that expertise and who can gain access to more experience when they need it.

"So, everyone's applications and data are everywhere. Maybe partnering with an organisation that has that specialised expertise is the best route because it's faster to get to the solution that you need, as a business."

‘Science is saying that we need to reduce at least 14 per cent of our global emissions by 2030. Are we on track to reducing those emissions? We're not at the moment' - Chief sustainability officer at CGI Mattie Yeta

During the panel discussion about nearing Net Zero, chief sustainability officer at CGI, Mattie Yeta, highlighted that many technology companies "want to do the right thing" when it comes to sustainability, but said there are "challenges".

She said: "If we take the global perspective, at the moment science is saying that we need to reduce at least 14 per cent of our global emissions by 2030. Are we on track to reducing those emissions? We're not at the moment."

Yeta added the framework industries have to address and reduce their emissions show the IT industry sitting at about 50 per cent by 2029, with software and services a sitting at about 48 per cent.

She said: "From a tech perspective, I think we are getting there.

"If I look across the industry, I do see that many technology companies want to do the right thing, genuinely. But we do have some challenges, data is one and the ability to share data within our supply chain or within our organisation's and we see this with our providers.

"I think this is a really big challenge in terms of actually getting robust data to help companies measure dimensions of economics."

‘Don't just focus on the shiny stuff' - Flow Communications CEO Etienne Greeff

During a keynote speech, Flow Communications CEO Etienne Greeff urged MSP's and customers to not focus on just a "shiny" deck of tools to protect themselves from cyberattacks.

He said: "We tend to focus a lot on protection, the shiny, we can manage it, and install it. In an immature business, you typically find that they spent their budget not so much on assessing risk or responding to recovery.

"I plan to focus on other areas, not just the shiny stuff.

"These are things I think can we really help our customers with. This stuff can actually really reduce the risk."