Your Cloud Attack Surface,
Actually Managed
Next Step secures your data, identities and workloads in the cloud, built on a model that assumes nothing and verifies everything.
The Cloud Doesn't Have to Be a Blind Spot.
Properly configured and monitored, your cloud environment
is no less secure than anything on-premise. Usually more.
Moving to the Cloud Moves Your Risk, Too
As more of the business moves to the cloud, so does the attack surface.
Misconfigurations, exposed identities, excessive access permissions and unsecured workloads create gaps that many businesses only discover after an incident.
Built-in security settings provide a starting point, but they do not automatically protect every identity, application and workload across your cloud environment. Without continuous oversight, small configuration changes can introduce significant risk.
Next Step secures your cloud environment using a Zero Trust model. Nothing is assumed safe and every request is verified across your identities, data and workloads.
Cloud-specific risks are managed alongside your broader cybersecurity environment, giving them the same standard of monitoring, response and accountability.
Let’s Talk About Your Cloud Security
What We Cover
From cloud security posture management and data loss prevention to privileged access management and cloud SIEM, this is the full scope of what’s included:
CSPM
Your cloud configuration checked continuously against known risks.
Cloud-Native Threat Detection
Threats identified inside cloud platforms, not just at the network edge.
Identity & Access Management
Cloud access controlled properly, not left on default settings.
Privileged Access Management
Your highest-risk accounts get the highest level of control.
Cloud Workload Protection
Virtual machines and containers monitored like any other endpoint.
SaaS Security
The applications your team actually uses, brought under proper oversight.
Zero Trust Network Access
Access granted on verification, not on network location.
Cloud SIEM & Log Management
Activity logged and correlated so incidents don't go unnoticed.
Data Loss Prevention
Sensitive information stopped before it leaves where it should.
Cloud Compliance & Governance
Your cloud environment held to the standard your business needs.
Cloud Backup & Cyber Recovery
Recovery built for ransomware, not just accidental deletion.
Response Times You Can Hold Us To
Every incident is logged, prioritised and worked to a committed target, not a best guess.
Impact
Response Target
Resolution Target
critical
The business is stopped
1 hour
4 hours
high
Major function is down
4 hours
8 hours
moderate
Limited impact, workaround available
8 hours
24 hours
low
Minor request or query
24 hours
2 business days
Targets apply within business hours and form part of every Next Step service agreement.
Case Study: MFAA
From Legacy to Leading Edge
MFAA moved off legacy, on-premise infrastructure to a secure, cloud-first environment under Next Step’s management: cloud migration, a standardised device environment, and Essential Eight-aligned cybersecurity, delivered as one connected project rather than three separate ones.
If you do not have the IT operations and foundations in place and working well, it becomes much harder to focus on broader organisational priorities. The value for MFAA is that we now have a more secure, reliable and modern technology environment, and we have confidence that Next Step is managing those foundations effectively.
Evan Thomas
COO, MFAA
Better Cloud Security in Three Steps
Audit
your cloud configuration against known risks.
Close
the highest-risk exposures first.
Monitor continuously
alongside the rest of your environment.
Reporting You Can Actually Act On
Technology risk and investment translated into plain language, not technical jargon, so decisions get made with confidence.
Why Businesses Choose Next Step
Full Ownership, Not Just Advice
One team, one relationship, one number to call. We manage your vendors, contracts and environment so nothing falls into the gap between suppliers.
Forward Planning as Standard
Every client gets a technology roadmap. You'll always know what's coming, what it costs, and why it matters, before it happens.
Response Times You Can Hold Us To
Every incident is logged, prioritised and worked to a committed target, not a best guess.
Thirty Years Deep
Next Step has been doing this since 1994. The tools have changed. The commitment to getting it right hasn't.
FAQs
What's the difference between Managed Cyber Cloud and Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity covers your broader environment, endpoints, identity and monitoring. Managed Cyber Cloud focuses specifically on the risk that comes with cloud platforms: misconfiguration, exposed identities and unsecured workloads.
What is Zero Trust, in plain terms?
Zero Trust means access is granted based on verification every time, not on which network someone happens to be connected to. Nothing is assumed safe by default.
How do we know if our cloud environment is misconfigured?
A cloud security posture assessment checks your configuration against known risks and flags exposure before it’s exploited, not after.
Does this replace our existing cybersecurity coverage?
No. It sits alongside it, extending the same standard of monitoring and response to cloud-specific risk that your broader environment already gets.
Is this relevant if we only use a handful of cloud applications?
Yes, though scope narrows to match. Even a small number of SaaS applications can carry identity and data exposure worth securing properly.
What is CSPM and why does it matter?
Cloud Security Posture Management continuously checks your cloud configuration against known risks. Misconfiguration is one of the most common causes of cloud breaches, so catching it early matters more than most other controls.
What's the difference between cloud security and traditional network security?
Traditional network security protects a defined perimeter. Cloud security protects identities, configurations and workloads that can be accessed from anywhere, which is why it needs its own dedicated controls rather than an extension of on-premise tools.
Do we need Managed Cyber Cloud if we already use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace security features?
Built-in platform security covers a baseline, but it doesn’t extend across every cloud service, identity or workload a business runs. Managed Cyber Cloud fills that gap with continuous monitoring and response across the full environment.
What is privileged access management?
Privileged access management applies extra control and oversight to your highest-risk accounts, the ones with broad system access, so a single compromised credential can’t quietly become a much larger problem.
How is cloud backup different from standard backup?
Cloud backup and cyber recovery is built specifically to withstand ransomware, with immutable copies and tested recovery paths, rather than relying on standard backup that a determined attacker could also encrypt or delete.
Talk to Someone Who'll Give You a Straight Answer
No sales script, no pressure to sign today.
Just a clear picture of where your IT stands and what fixing it would actually involve.