Three benefits of partnering with a managed service provider for DDoS security
By James Miller, Cyber Security Product Lead - Bell
When investing in a distributed denial of service (DDoS) solution for your business, you might think it best to engage directly with the vendor providing it. After all, who would have a better understanding of the solution? In truth, there are significant advantages to working with a third-party managed service provider (MSP) to meet your DDoS needs – particularly when that MSP is also your telecommunications service provider.
In this blog, I’ll outline three benefits of engaging a MSP for DDoS solution deployment and ongoing DDoS attack mitigation: lower costs, faster response times and broader protection.
Lower costs
If you were to buy a DDoS solution directly from the vendor, you would pay full price. Because MSPs work with many different clients, they’re often able to get volume-based discounts from DDoS solution vendors and can then pass the savings on to your business.
Some MSPs offer savings if you bundle DDoS security with other services your business needs. An opportunity like this is especially powerful if your MSP is your telecommunications service provider, as you can combine DDoS security with your existing internet, voice and other services. The tighter integrations and efficiencies that come from having one provider handle everything involving the Internet and networking can also speed up DDoS attack detection and response times. This can further support your bottom line by minimizing service disruptions and their associated costs.
Faster response times
A DDoS attack can happen at any time of day, but many businesses don’t have 24/7 operations or the in-house resources for continuous protection. That can cause major issues if, for instance, an attack brings down your network or critical applications overnight.
If your business doesn’t have the resources to mount a continuous DDoS defence, bring in a partner that does. Many MSPs offer 24/7 monitoring, detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks. So, if an attack does happen, the MSP can respond right away to minimize downtime and its impacts on your business.
While some cloud-based DDoS security vendors offer similar services, these would be secondary to their primary focus: developing and selling cloud-based software. In contrast, the business model of a MSP is built specifically around augmenting in-house teams with specialized technical expertise and capabilities. Their credibility depends on their ability to support their clients as effectively and efficiently as possible – so they’ve gotten really good at doing it.
Broader protection
Even if you have the capacity to manage a DDoS solution in-house, you won’t have access to your service providers’ telecommunications backbone to effectively detect and mitigate volumetric attacks at the network edge. A volumetric DDoS attack is one that sends huge amounts of malicious traffic to your network to use up all available bandwidth, leaving none for legitimate users.
To defend against this attack, you would have to engage a MSP or cloud service provider to enable edge-based protection, whether as a standalone edge DDoS solution or as a complement to an in-line network or on-premises deployment. Check out our related blog for a breakdown of the differences between edge, network and cloud DDoS solutions.
A telecommunications service provider will be able to provide a lower-latency edge-based protection because they won’t need to redirect traffic to a cloud-based scrubbing centre during an attack. Choosing your telecommunications service provider as your MSP also promotes continuity of operations, as they can handle the deployment and management of your DDoS solution along with managing your other services.
What to look for in a MSP for DDoS management
Just like DDoS solutions themselves, not all MSPs are alike. There are a few key things you’ll want to look for when assessing potential MSP partners so you can make the best choice for your business.
Ensure the MSP’s detection and mitigation capabilities are automated as well as behavioural based, meaning their solution can identify new kinds of DDoS attacks by suspicious network behaviour. This matters because DDoS attacks are evolving at ever-faster rates. The only way to keep up is with the help of automation, AI and machine learning.
Also consider how well integrated the MSP’s systems are with the Internet provider’s network, and whether their DDoS detection takes place at the network edge or within the network itself. In addition, you should ask about how long they’ve been providing DDoS security services. The more experience the better. Testament to the strength of their DDoS solutions is whether they trust the same solution to protect their own business, so be sure to check that as well.
Your ideal MSP partner for DDoS security
Working with a MSP for your DDoS solution deployment and management offers several advantages over a direct vendor engagement. The benefits are even greater when you choose a MSP with the experience, resources, partnerships and world-class solutions to keep your business protected as DDoS attacks continue to evolve.
When you choose Bell for DDoS managed services, you benefit from the threat detection, mitigation and prevention expertise that comes from owning and operating Canada’s largest voice and data network. Our team of more than 700 security professionals can provide around-the-clock DDoS protection to keep your business up and running, using the same automated and behavioural-based DDoS solutions we count on to protect our own networks.
Learn more on our DDoS security page or reach out to a Bell representative to discuss how we can help meet your needs.