Cybersecurity channel chiefs and MSSPs look to the future

The cybersecurity market is rife with conferences that feature keynote speakers, industry experts, vendor demos, training sessions, hack-a-thons and professional networking. 

Some of the best events are centered on a narrowly defined topic, an industry vertical, or a niche technology. And with CyberTechnologyXchange (CTX), we have a new venue focused on the burgeoning managed security service providers (MSSP) space.

There will be no convention center or expo hall at the inaugural CTX in the summer of 2018. Rather, everything will take place behind closed doors -- in private one-on-one meetings between vendors and MSSPs.

Vetting new products and technology platforms is a big chore for MSSPs. Cutting through the market hype to zero in on the most promising solutions in emerging categories is a time-consuming process.

CTX is a business matchmaker for vendor channel chiefs and MSSP executives. The idea is to cut down the time it takes to find and vet each other and elevate discussions up to the C-suite on both sides.

“Strategic partnership is about understanding and trust, but even more, it’s about mutual benefit,” says Greg Geisler, CEO of VerticalXchange, parent company of CTX.

VerticalXchange has already proved out the model in the physical security space with its popular SecurityXchange event, a “solution broker” in a market that is converging with cybersecurity around internet-based video surveillance and other technologies.

“CTX creates the environment that allows cybersecurity vendors and MSSPs to get right to the real stuff -- how they can meet each other’s most critical needs -- right away,” adds Geisler, who has an extensive background in creating and producing conferences for the IT industry.

Why focus on MSSPs?

The cyber economic market fundamentals led Geisler and CTX to lock on MSSPs as a focal point. A severe workforce shortage has fueled a fast growing market for managed security services. And the cybersecurity skills gap is expected to grow to 3.5 million unfilled positions by 2021, reports CRN in a recent story.

Organizations that outsource to MSSPs tap into a talent pool that might otherwise elude them, according to the MSSP Alert, a specialty media focused on managed security services.

Cyber crime damages are predicted to cost the world $6 trillion by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. As a result, global cybersecurity spending is expected to exceed $1 trillion cumulatively over the next five years.

The MSSP sector is the fastest-growing services segment (in cybersecurity), with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 13.2%, according to a story in Digital Forensics Magazine earlier this year.

Channel chiefs and MSSPs will sit down with each other at CTX and discuss how they can exploit a huge market opportunity together.

VeritcalXchange is placing a big bet on the new event, renting out a block of 2,000-sq.-ft. condos at The Lodges at Deer Valley, a resort in Park City, Utah. The suites will be used for the one-on-one meetings and for housing the attendees.

It’s not exactly Vegas -- but it may be worth the trek to CTX if what happens in Utah, stays in Utah.