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DDoS Mitigation as a Managed Security Service? Yes Indeed

Ninety-three percent of service providers view distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack mitigation services as a high priority relative to other offerings, according to the second-annual "Future of DDoS Protection" survey from DDoS mitigation services provider Corero Network Security.

Comparatively, 56 percent of survey respondents said providing DDoS attack mitigation services is just as important as providing other services, and 37 percent ranked DDoS attack mitigation as more important than other services, Corero noted.

Admittedly, Corero's business depends on  DDoS-related mitigation services, so the data can be considered self-serving. Still, the statistics make an interesting read for MSSPs.

What Does the Ideal DDoS Attack Mitigation Solution Include?

In the Corero survey, service providers ranked the following requirements as "must-haves" in the ideal DDoS attack mitigation solution. The lineup includes the ability to:

  • maintain bandwidth/throughput in the face of a DDoS attack (42 percent).
  • handle high-volume, indiscriminate attacks (29 percent).
  • mitigate DDoS attacks in seconds versus minutes or more (25 percent).handle attacks that are aimed at disrupting specific applications (25 percent).
  • reduce overall capital expenses and operating expenses (22 percent).

Also, the ability to integrate with third-party DDoS detection tools, the ability to provide reporting and visibility into attack types and mitigation and low false blocking rates all scored in the teens among service providers' DDoS attack mitigation solution must-haves, the survey showed.

Are Service Providers Targeting DDoS Protection-as-a-Service?

Eighty-two percent of survey respondents indicated they see a clear business opportunity in offering DDoS protection as-a-service to customers, Corero said in a prepared statement. In addition, 33 percent said they see a significant opportunity with DDoS protection as-a-service, while 7 percent noted they see no upside in such a service, Corero stated.

Conversely, many service providers indicated market barriers remain in terms of commercial success with a fee-based DDoS attack protection offering, according to the survey.

Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents cited proving the value of a DDoS attack protection service to customers at the top market barrier, Corero indicated.

Other service provider concerns in deploying DDoS as-a-service included a requirement for per-customer visibility and protection capabilities from a single management console (23 percent) and cost (21 percent), the survey showed.

The Bottom Line on DDoS-as-a-Service

Although there are many concerns among service providers about DDoS-as-a-service, this DDoS protection offering could help service providers build customer loyalty and gain a competitive advantage, Corero said in a prepared statement.

DDoS-as-a-service may help service providers capitalize on the rapidly expanding global DDoS protection services and solutions market as well.

MarketsandMarkets has projected the global DDoS protection services and solutions market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3 percent between 2016 and 2021.

The research firm also has predicted this market will be worth approximately $2.61 billion by 2021.

Dan Kobialka

Dan Kobialka is senior contributing editor, MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. He covers IT security, IT service provider business strategies and partner programs. Dan holds a M.A. in Print and Multimedia Journalism from Emerson College and a B.A. in English from Bridgewater State University. In his free time, Dan enjoys jogging, traveling, playing sports, touring breweries and watching football.