Whether you call it an annual report or year in review, the IoTSSA team believes in transparency. Our mission is to create and provide cybersecurity and IoT practice-building resources for MSPs, and we’re happy to share the details with our members, partners, and other channel constituents.

2019 was the perfect storm for IoTSSA. The threats against the small business community and the IT services firms that protect those organizations continue to escalate exponentially every year. The cybercrime world was extremely active with more bad actors, as well as a host of creative new tools and methods of attack.

On the flip side, IoTSSA members asked us to cover a variety of new topics in our Secure Connections podcasts, on our virtual panel sessions, and during our regional Cybersecurity Expo events. We took a deep dive into subjects such as cyber-insurance for MSPs and the SMB, minimizing the legal risks of securing your clients and protecting your own assets, the nuances of compliance frameworks, and much more.

Thank you to all who tuned in IoTSSA programs. Our Secure Connections podcast and virtual panels tallied more than 20,000 downloads in 2019 through our website, Apple, Crunchbase, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, and other podcast platforms.

Our top objective is to help our members, and the IT community in general, strengthen their cybersecurity and IoT-related best practices and revenue opportunities. The feedback and accolades we’re receiving are certainly appreciated, including being voted Best in Show and Innovator of the Year at ChannelCon 2019 in August and having Secure Connections recognized as one of the best channel podcasts by Forrester last month.

Those acknowledgments validate the IoTSSA mission and the value of an interactive channel community. Our team regularly fields and finds answers to relevant questions with the help of a rapidly expanding network of cybersecurity experts. That’s an activity we all enjoy and, thanks to the broad support of the industry and some things we have in development, the engagement opportunities for our members will increase considerably in 2020.

Recognizing Our Industry Partners

Before we wrap 2019, IoTSSA would like to acknowledge those who help make it all happen. Our vendor partners are always willing to share information, including the latest threat data and tools, channel resources and, most of all, their collective expertise. Many go the extra mile to ensure our members have access to the resources they need and get answers to critical technical and business-related questions.

The Annual IoTSSA Community Awards recognize the top performers over the past year. Our 2019 honorees include:

Best Virtual Panel of 2019

Securing your MSP Business – May 29th

Best Podcast of 2019

Risk & Vulnerabilities, John Ford, CISO of ConnectWise, May 8th episode

Best Community Engagement of 2019 – based on their involvement and support of IoTSSA members

  • Infogressive

2019 IoTSSA Expo Awards (by event)                               

We ask every MSP who attends our regional Cybersecurity Expos to provide feedback that our team uses to tweak agendas and otherwise improve future events. Each also gets an opportunity to vote for the companies that could have the most impact on their IT services practice. The four awards presented for each event include:

Jacksonville, Florida (January 2019)                                                    

  • Best Security Presentation – Sophos
  • Best Security Education – Secure Now!
  • Best Security Solution – Vault America
  • Best in Show – Infogressive

Salt Lake City, Utah (March 2019)                                                        

  • Best Security Presentation – ID Agent
  • Best Security Education – Secure Now!
  • Best Security Solution – Datto
  • Best in Show – Infogressive

Columbus, Ohio (May 2019)                                                   

  • Best Security Presentation – Datto
  • Best Security Education – Secure Now!
  • Best Security Solution – ID Agent
  • Best in Show – Infogressive

Minneapolis, Minnesota (June 2019)                                                  

  • Best Security Presentation – ConnectWise
  • Best Security Education – ID Agent
  • Best Security Solution – Fortinet
  • Best in Show – Infogressive

Loudoun, Virginia (September 2019)                                                   

  • Best Security Presentation – Sophos
  • Best Security Education – ConnectWise
  • Best Security Solution – ID Agent
  • Best in Show – Infogressive

Mount Laurel, New Jersey (November 2019)                                                  

  • Best Security Presentation – Sophos
  • Best Security Education – ConnectWise
  • Best Security Solution – ID Agent
  • Best in Show – Infogressive

What Comes Next?

The coming months will be an exciting time for IoTSSA and our members. Our recently announced 2020 Advisory Council is already sharing tremendous insight and providing innovative ideas that we’ll use to shaped upcoming activities and resources. Expectations are high for what we can do with such a great group of MSPs behind us, as well as a thriving community of other cybersecurity experts.

With six regional IoTSSA Cybersecurity Expos on the schedule and a variety of new channel-focused resources in development, 2020 should be an exciting time for our members and partners.

Whether you’re new to the community or have been involved with IoTSSA over the past two years, be sure to buckle your seat belts. Borrowing from the classic Bachman Turner Overdrive song from a few years back, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!”