How NIS2 turns hardware into a service for MSPs
Any reseller can sell a customer a switch. Few can tell that customer what NIS2 asks of them and then show where their network stands. An MSP that does both has turned hardware into a service.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Customers want an answer
NIS2 puts obligations on the organizations it covers, and most of them have lean IT teams with no spare hours to read a directive. They want a partner who can say which measures apply, what is already in place and what is missing. If an MSP can give those answers, they have something to sell beyond the hardware: advice now and oversight after.
MSPs have a stake of their own. For managed service providers in scope, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690, adopted under NIS2, spells out the technical measures they must meet themselves. Those rules are the same in every EU country. A partner has to show its own practices, then help customers show theirs.
NETGEAR Insight and NETGEAR Exium: the network and its security
NETGEAR Insight is the cloud platform partners use to manage NETGEAR switches, access points and routers across customer sites. NETGEAR Exium, part of NETGEAR Insight, adds the security layer. An MSP configures the network in Insight and moves to NETGEAR Exium to set access and security policy and inspect traffic.
Network segmentation, central device management, logging and firmware updates are typical NIS2 measures, and NETGEAR Insight supports them for the network layer.
Security controls in NETGEAR Exium
NETGEAR Exium includes zero trust network access, a secure web gateway, a cloud-delivered firewall and agentless access. They support the Article 21 measures on access control, multi-factor authentication, network security and encryption. NETGEAR Exium checks users and devices before they reach an application, and access works with the identity providers customers already run, such as Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, Ping and Duo.
The NETGEAR Exium Cyber Gateway adds a next-generation firewall, network segmentation, intrusion detection and prevention, DNS and web security and network access control. That supports the network side of the measures on network security and incident handling.
Check where a customer stands
With a NETGEAR Exium Cyber Gateway deployed, a partner can ask CyberAI for a NIS2 readiness assessment of the customer’s network. CyberAI is the supervised AI assistant in NETGEAR Exium. It reads the live state of the network through the gateway, maps the controls in place to the Article 21 measures and shows what is still missing. Any change it suggests needs a person’s approval.
Without the gateway, CyberAI can only offer a general NIS2 checklist. With one, the MSP gets a picture of that customer’s network and a clear place to start the conversation about the gaps. The assessment covers the technical measures the network can show. It is a starting point for the work, not proof of compliance. A partner can schedule the assessment to run every week, so the picture of the network stays current.
Evidence is the product
The directive allows 24 hours for an early warning after a significant incident is noticed, and 72 hours for a full notification, so a customer needs a partner who can find answers fast. Policy, traffic and security events sit in one NETGEAR Exium dashboard. Evidence that comes from the platform itself stays current, and it holds up better with an auditor than a spreadsheet one engineer keeps up to date.
NETGEAR Exium also connects to the tools most MSPs already run: ConnectWise, Autotask, and Halo for PSA; Splunk, Stellar Cyber, and CrowdStrike for SIEM; Datto and NinjaOne for RMM. Security events land in the SIEM and open tickets in the PSA, so the team keeps working in the tools it knows.
A service line you can repeat
NIS2 pushes supply chain security down to vendors, MSPs and resellers. A partner that can show standard security practices is better placed to win and keep those customers. The readiness assessment works the same way for every customer with a Cyber Gateway, and a partner runs it from one multi-tenant console. A first check, a plan for the gaps and a repeat check as the network changes add up to a service, which is where a partner shows value beyond the hardware.
What this does not replace
NETGEAR does not make a customer compliant. NETGEAR Insight and Exium help a partner check where a customer stands on the technical measures and keep the evidence current.