MSP 501 Digital Innovator Integritek Invests in UCaaS ‘to Keep Telephony from Becoming a Commodity’

… moved a number of staff to work from home. That trend will continue even after the pandemic dies off. Integritek’s approach to cybersecurity will accommodate that paradigm shift.

“I’m never going to have 100% of my workforce back in the office,” Paulson says. “Before we had a shutdown we were moving people out of the office in early March. … We just did a survey and 80% of our employees want to work from home at least two days a week. That’s how clients and employers are too.”

In fact, Integritek has seen “about 100% growth” during the pandemic as companies seek a flexible, secure way for employees to communicate.

“I think next year we’ll continue that growth path,” Paulson says.

Most of the increase comes from current clients abandoning that on-premises Vonage-like platform.

“We have gotten a lot of clients moving over because of COVID-19.”

No one knows what 2021 will bring. Integritek plans to keep shoring up all facets of supporting remote work. Whether COVID-19 keeps people at home or whether some other disruptor comes along, Integritek plans to be ready. That will mean paying attention to hardware, not just digital innovation.

“We are moving toward infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure,” Paulson says.

Tackling the Insider Threats Threat

However, that is not to say Integritek won’t still tackle that digital side. In fact, the MSP is hard at work on targeting overprivileged users. That, Paulson says, is the origin of most insider attacks. And to see how things go, Integritek is starting with its own organization. Thing is, Paulson can’t say how its insider threat prevention works just yet.

“I can’t talk exactly about what we’re doing there because there’s some secret sauce,” he says. But, he adds, “my current thought is that I’m not doing the industry any good by having secret sauce.”

Because of that, Integritek may add its insider threat platform to its roster of services. Paulson says, though, his main motivation is not about making money on the tool.

“We’re trying to help SMBs become better, more efficient,” he says. “As SMBs grow, the MSP space just grows organically.”

However Integritek proceeds, focusing on insider threats is a smart move. In fact, these breaches pose one of the biggest risks to organizations worldwide, even more than phishing or ransomware. For its part, Forrester Research predicts insider threats will grow from 25% this year to 33% in 2021. Integritek is hard at work on safeguards, and it is targeting overprivileged users. That, Paulson says, is the origin of most insider attacks.

“Overprivileged users are the biggest threat, and they can be malicious or not,” Paulson says.

For example, the Equifax and Capital One hacks happened because of insiders, he notes. Integritek aims to prevent anything like that from happening.

‘We Will Keep Making Investments’

That directive, and much of Integritek’s success throughout 2020, stems in large part from Paulson. He joined the MSP in January after 12 years in Silicon Valley.

“I’m super excited,” he says of Integritek’s focus. “This stuff is in my wheelhouse.”

Over the course of the year, it’s become apparent that UCaaS will fuel Integritek’s growth and reputation. With that in mind, Paulson shows no signs of letting up.

“We’ve made seven-digit investments to keep telephony from becoming a commodity,” he says. “We will keep making investments. We want to delight clients with UCaaS.”