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Managed service providers (MSPs) will lose out on business if they fail to provide customers with a security offering, according to two UK MSPs. Mark Matthews, CEO at West Midlands-based ATG IT, said security was “the only door opener and the only differentiator nowadays”. Speaking to MicroScope at MSP software vendor Continuum’s Navigate user event in Boston, Matthews said: “Traditional IT support has been done and talked about. When I say I can fix your computer, I can only do it cheaper or quicker than somebody else, whereas there aren’t that many players looking at security.” However, he added that the path to acquiring the right security skills and certification, such as Cyber Essentials, wasn’t easy or cheap, so “not a lot of MSPs” were taking advantage of the opportunity. This view was backed up by Mostyn Thomas, managing director of South Wales-based Astrix, which sold off its IT support and maintenance division earlier this year to focus solely on supplying security and compliance services to small IT firms, which then ...