As technology advances, so do the weapons and tactics of cybercriminals. Managed Service Providers (MSPs) must constantly raise their game and develop better ways to protect their customers against attack. In Australia, cybercrime is predicted to cost an estimated $42 billion, according to the book 'Cybercrime in Australia: 20 years of inaction' by Nigel Phair.

MSPs need new strategies to protect the sensitive data and critical systems of their customers. Enter CRaaS. While an old scenario may see a business being brought to its knees once a cyberattack hits, cyber recovery as a service (CRaaS) eliminates the risk by enabling the business to recover data and restore systems rapidly.

A crash course in CRaaS

Traditional disaster recovery solutions resolve physical server failures or clean up after a natural disaster like a fire or flood. On the other hand, CRaaS provides a more modern, more comprehensive recovery. It enables businesses to restore their data after an attack and find and fix the security gaps that allowed the attack to happen in the first place.

Even MSPs specialising in disaster recovery may not have the resources and expertise in IT security and forensics necessary to provide adequate cyber recovery as a service. Because recovering data after a cyberattack is just the beginning, MSPs must also be able to implement new security policies and solutions to prevent future attacks and keep their clients' data safe.

Cyber-recovery as a service can be lucrative, so many MSPs consider adding it to their arsenal. CRaaS-competent MSPs ensure that their clients' systems are secure, resilient, and protected against the cyberattacks of tomorrow. Cyber-recovery as a service is an ever-evolving field, and ongoing collaboration between MSPs with vendors is essential.

No one solution can completely solve the issue. Many tools and techniques are required to protect customers, get them back on their feet as soon as possible, and defend them against future threats. Top MSPs have those tools and the ability to get customers up and running fast after a cyber incident, find security gaps and fix them, and implement measures to prevent incidents in the future.

Another capacity that distinguishes CRaaS-competent MSPs is understanding how to work with cyber insurance companies and, if worse comes to worst, how to negotiate with cybercriminals in the event of a successful ransomware attack. Negotiating with the attackers is sometimes the only way out, and it requires a fine-tuned skillset and detailed knowledge base that MSPs need to keep updated.

CRaaS could soon become an essential offering

Cyber-recovery as a service offers many benefits to both MSPs that can effectively provide it and to end customers that buy it. For the customer, CRaaS assures continuity and, possibly, survival itself. A competent MSP partner can monitor their customers' data and networks around the clock and handle any incident promptly and efficiently, giving customers confidence in the service. Furthermore, customers can focus on running their businesses because the MSP does the heavy lifting when drawing up a comprehensive cybersecurity plan.

MSPs that deliver effective CRaaS can differentiate themselves from the pack, leading to more business and healthy revenue streams. Indeed, with the exploding threat of cyberattacks, MSPs that don't offer cyber-recovery as a service may fall behind their competition.

CRaaS enables organisations and MSPs to go forward with confidence

By going the extra mile and offering cyber-recovery as a service, MSPs can create stickier relationships with their customers and open new growth opportunities. However, having the correct skillset and technological solutions in place are essential. Additionally, they must provide a comprehensive service, which means restoring data in the event of a cyberattack and continuously delivering the new products and policies needed to take on tomorrow's threats.

CRaaS is quickly emerging as a viable, necessary alternative to traditional disaster-recovery methods. In the ongoing security arms race, CRaaS is a win-win. For customers, it provides data security and peace of mind. For MSPs, it opens new revenue streams and helps them stay ahead of the competition.