Ogres have layers even if they’re not like parfaits. Or so Shrek claims, anyway. Semantics aside, he has a point—layers add value.

This isn’t a new observation, of course. As clever as our ogre friend may be, people (and fairytale creatures) learned the value of bundling products and services long ago. Sometimes those bundles are for scale-based discount (fixed bundling), sometimes they mix complementary pieces (mixed bundling) and sometimes both.

If you’re thinking that we’re about to point out that cyber resilience is all about layers, too, you’re right. But not all bundles are equal, and there are cases wherein the right bundle at the right time makes all the difference to the right customer.

Today we’re discussing Microsoft customers in particular. That’s partly because cyber insurance companies are paying closer attention to Microsoft security scores when they review applications for cyber coverage (more on that below). But it’s also because there are unique opportunities to bundle services for Microsoft customers that can provide substantial value to your clients while generating healthy revenue streams for your MSP. Here’s a three-pronged rundown:

All the Usual Suspects Apply
Cyber resilience, at its core, offers a combination of cybersecurity and business continuity services. You can delve into the differences between cyber security and cyber resilience here, but, in a nutshell, you want to help your clients prevent events (like breaches) whenever possible and prepare them to withstand an attack if one happens anyway. The holy grail here is for your clients to be able to withstand an attack with no impact on product or service output.

While none of that’s unique to Microsoft users, they aren’t exempted from them either. They need the same services everyone else does, independent of whatever unique solutions you can deliver for their Microsoft instances.

Settling “Scores” for Microsoft Customers
We mentioned briefly mentioned above that cyber insurance companies are focusing on the Microsoft security scores of Microsoft customers. You can dig more into that here, including some talking points you can use to help clients build their resilience when they turn to you for help with their scores. But from a bundling perspective, this focus on scores presents a tremendous opportunity for you to bundle “Microsoft Security Score Optimization Services” (or audits) with your core cyber resilience offerings.

More than that, however, it also provides a lead-in opportunity that lets you bundle other services around this burgeoning demand for security score improvements. Either way, your ability to package high-value services with a high-demand need present significant new revenue opportunities with new and existing customers alike.

It’s also worth pointing out that if you have a good resilience provider partner, you can lean on them for intelligence about which bundles are selling around this new demand. A good partner is worth its weight in gold when it comes to growing your business.

Value-Added Services
Microsoft customers face some level of additional risk simply by being Microsoft customers. Everything’s a numbers game—even for cybercrooks—and they target dominant systems because they target more users with each malware release. That makes Microsoft instances a natural attack vector, which has been the case for some time. This reality, of course, is also why insurance companies are paying close attention to Microsoft security scores.

Boosting those scores is good, but it’s not enough to establish resilience. So, for Microsoft customers, establishing a Microsoft 365 backup service that offers backup and fast restoration for everything from an entire system to a single user is a powerful solution to bundle with your services. That’s particularly the case when it covers the whole Microsoft spectrum—from SharePoint and OneDrive to email and Teams.

Don’t Get Complacent
As cyber insurance renewals roll out, plenty of your competitors are ready to pounce with their own security score audit/optimization and services bundles. Organize a campaign now—perhaps with the help of your provider partner (if they don’t have a campaign in a box for this, ask for one!) —around helping your customers improve their scores for cyber insurance applications. From there, it’s just a matter of having your services bundled and ready to go.