Security Is Different From Network Management

Jumping into security isn't as easy as picking up a few security vendors to add to your portfolio, McDonald said. With security, VARs and MSPs are taking on added responsibility for confidentiality, integrity and availability of the customer's data, he said, and there are "unbelievable" fines for making a mistake. On top of that, unlike other IT sales, security also cannot be delivered effective as a point sale, he said, and must be part of a comprehensive solution for the client.

"It’s a very different world from management of a network," McDonald said. "It's not antivirus. It's not firewalls. If you think security is about that, you're going to be another commodity person in the noise," he continued.