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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchCyber resilience is the ability to anticipate threats, withstand disruption, recover quickly and continue operating when incidents occur. For managed service providers (MSPs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs), that means connecting prevention, detection, response and recovery—not relying on a single security product or assuming an attack can always be stopped.
The seven strategies below are recommendations presented by OpenText in a sponsored CRN article. They offer a useful planning framework, not an independently tested ranking or a universal standard. MSPs should adapt them to each customer’s systems, exposure, staffing and recovery needs.
1. Layer security controls so one failure does not become a breach
No single control blocks every attack. Layering reduces the chance that a weakness in one defensive measure leaves a customer exposed without another opportunity to detect or limit the threat.
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Assess coverage across endpoint protection, email security, DNS protection, multifactor authentication (MFA) and security awareness. These controls address different paths into an organization: a malicious attachment, a compromised device, a risky login or a user tricked into sharing credentials. The goal is complementary protection rather than simply accumulating tools.
CRN’s article attributes an average $2.2 million lower breach cost to organizations combining multiple security layers, citing IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024. This is an attribution reported by CRN, not proof that adding layers alone causes a particular saving or guarantees a lower loss.
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2. Improve detection, triage and response
Prevention can fail. When it does, the time between an attacker’s first activity and effective containment can determine how far an incident spreads. MSPs need a defined process for continuous monitoring, alert triage, escalation and response—not just a stream of notifications.
- Define who reviews alerts, during which hours, and how urgent events reach the right responder.
- Set escalation paths and customer contacts in advance, including who can authorize containment actions.
- Use threat hunting and incident response planning to look beyond automatically generated alerts and prepare for events that require investigation.
- Consider managed detection and response (MDR) where the customer or MSP lacks the staffing or expertise to provide the required monitoring and investigation.
OpenText’s September 2022 blog says MSPs are a major target for cyberattacks and should consider MDR. That is the vendor’s recommendation, not an independent assessment of every MSP’s risk or service needs. Its description of its own MxDR service is also vendor-provided; it should not be treated as a comparative performance test.
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Unpatched and misconfigured systems can give attackers a route into an environment. Vulnerability management helps an MSP identify weaknesses and direct limited remediation time toward the issues most likely to matter to the customer.
- Discover assets: maintain an inventory of devices, software and exposed services so scanning and patching do not overlook systems.
- Scan and assess exposure: identify known vulnerabilities and configuration concerns, then consider whether affected assets are reachable or important to business operations.
- Plan remediation: coordinate patch management and configuration reviews with customer owners, taking operational constraints and service dependencies into account.
- Track unresolved risk: document exceptions, ownership and next steps rather than treating a scan report as a completed remediation process.
The source recommends vulnerability scanning, patch management, asset discovery, configuration reviews and exposure assessments. It does not prescribe a scoring formula or a universal patch deadline, so MSPs should set service expectations around each customer’s risk and operating requirements.
4. Build backups for recovery, not just data retention
A backup is useful for resilience only if it is available after an incident and can be restored in time to support business operations. A backup strategy should therefore cover protection, workload coverage and proof of recovery.
- Set automated backup schedules that match the customer’s recovery objectives and the rate at which its data changes.
- Use immutable backups or air-gapped storage where appropriate to make backup copies harder to alter or destroy during an attack.
- Check that important SaaS applications and their data are covered; do not assume a service provider’s ordinary availability features are the same as a customer-controlled backup.
- Validate restoration by recovering data or workloads and recording whether the result meets the customer’s operational needs.
CRN’s article recommends automated schedules, immutability, air-gapped storage, SaaS application protection and recovery validation. It does not specify retention periods or recovery-time and recovery-point targets; those need to be agreed with each customer.
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5. Test recovery and incident plans before an emergency
A written plan cannot show whether people, permissions, backups and dependencies will work together under pressure. Exercises reveal gaps while there is still time to address them.
- Backup restoration exercises: restore selected data or systems and verify that the result is usable.
- Disaster recovery tests: rehearse bringing services back according to the documented recovery sequence.
- Tabletop simulations: walk decision-makers through a realistic incident scenario, including communications and authorization.
- Incident response drills: practice detection, escalation, containment and coordination between the MSP and customer.
- Business continuity reviews: check how essential work continues while systems are unavailable or being recovered.
Use the findings to update procedures, contact lists, responsibilities and technical dependencies. Recovery tests and tabletop exercises answer different questions: one checks whether restoration works; the other checks whether people can make and communicate decisions.
6. Make security awareness ongoing
Employees can encounter phishing, unsafe links and requests that bypass technical controls. Continuous awareness work helps customers build habits that support the rest of their defenses, but training should be treated as one layer rather than a substitute for protective technology.
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OpenText’s recommendations include ongoing training, phishing simulations, executive education, secure working practices and regular policy reinforcement. MSPs can help customers make these activities recurring and relevant to the roles and risks in their environment, then use exercise results to identify topics that need more attention.
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Fragmented tools can leave gaps in visibility, complicate investigations and increase administration. Consolidation may make it easier to see activity and apply consistent controls, but fewer products are not automatically better: a change is worthwhile only if coverage, integrations and operational outcomes remain adequate.
When assessing a service or platform, compare it against the customer’s needs and the MSP’s delivery model:
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- Coverage: endpoint, email, DNS, identity and MFA, cloud and SaaS data, and backups.
- Detection and response: monitoring hours, alert triage, escalation paths, human investigation and incident response support.
- Recovery: isolation or immutability of backup copies, supported workloads, restoration testing and documented recovery objectives.
- Operations: multi-tenant administration, integrations, policy consistency, reporting and the staffing burden on the MSP.
- Fit and evidence: deployment requirements, suitability for customer environments and verifiable service commitments.
CRN’s article attributes a finding that 69 percent of organizations identified tool sprawl as the top factor limiting cloud security effectiveness to the 2026 Cybersecurity Insiders’ Report. The underlying report was not independently verified here, so treat the figure as a claim attributed by CRN, not as a universal measurement.
Putting the strategies into an MSP service plan
The seven recommendations work best as connected capabilities. Layered controls and vulnerability remediation reduce exposure; monitoring and response address threats that get through; protected backups and tested recovery support continued operations; awareness and simpler operations help people deliver those controls consistently.
For an individual customer, start by identifying critical services and the consequences of their disruption. Map existing coverage and response responsibilities, identify gaps in asset visibility and backup recovery, then agree on priorities, owners and service expectations. Revisit the plan after exercises, material changes to the environment or incidents.
OpenText describes its Secure Cloud MSP offering as a unified platform for account management, license provisioning, security insights and threat response, with endpoint security, email security, SaaS backup and business communications archiving among the listed services. Its MSP program page also describes monthly billing, channel support, Microsoft CSP licensing benefits, PSA integrations and go-to-market enablement. These are current vendor descriptions, not independent evidence that the platform is the right fit for every provider or customer; confirm terms and capabilities with OpenText. See the OpenText Cybersecurity MSP Solutions page.
OpenText’s undated PEM Study page presents partner economics in the context of its study of full-lifecycle cybersecurity services. It reports a $6.73 revenue multiplier for Expert partners over three years, says 76.8% of total partner revenue occurs after procurement in the Adopt & Manage stages, and says managed services account for 35% of total revenue in Year 3. These are OpenText-published study-page figures, not general industry benchmarks. The page is available at OpenText’s PEM Study.
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