Why selecting your business
IT security is so important
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[av_section min_height=” min_height_px=’500px’ padding=’default’ shadow=’no-border-styling’ bottom_border=’no-border-styling’ bottom_border_diagonal_color=’#333333′ bottom_border_diagonal_direction=” bottom_border_style=” custom_margin=’0px’ custom_margin_sync=’true’ custom_arrow_bg=” id=” color=’main_color’ background=’bg_color’ custom_bg=” background_gradient_color1=” background_gradient_color2=” background_gradient_direction=’vertical’ src=” attachment=” attachment_size=” attach=’scroll’ position=’top left’ repeat=’no-repeat’ video=” video_ratio=’16:9′ overlay_opacity=’0.5′ overlay_color=” overlay_pattern=” overlay_custom_pattern=” av_element_hidden_in_editor=’0′ av_uid=’av-k1av9ojv’ custom_class=’whitepaper’]
[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ row_boxshadow=” row_boxshadow_color=” row_boxshadow_width=’10’ link=” linktarget=” link_hover=” padding=’0px’ highlight=” highlight_size=” border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ column_boxshadow=” column_boxshadow_color=” column_boxshadow_width=’10’ background=’bg_color’ background_color=” background_gradient_color1=” background_gradient_color2=” background_gradient_direction=’vertical’ src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=” mobile_breaking=” mobile_display=” av_uid=’av-4ss4qm’]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” av_uid=’av-k1b309jz’ custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=”]
[/av_textblock] [av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” av_uid=’av-k1auukwa’ custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=”] When it comes to keeping your business, your data, and your employee information safe from ongoing digital threats, your IT security is what stands between you and an ever-increasing number of attacks on your business’s network.
According to the ID Theft Research Center, from January 2005 to January 2019, there have been more than 10,000 successful, serious data breaches, affecting more than 1.6 billion individual records. For many years, those attacks were big and flashy, showing off what they could do. Now, according to the Sitelock Security Report, attackers go for quieter goals. In some cases, for example, their primary goal is to siphon off your processing power to build their bitcoin mining operations.
If your business is going to protect itself from all of these dangers, you need to have a strong IT team. Many companies find that a managed security service offers them the best way to stay protected and keep their systems current. But if you opt to do this, what do you look for in the provider?
Expertise
This should go without saying, but you should expect a managed IT security services provider to be good at what they’re doing. You would ask any other company for references; your IT services provider should be able to offer you these as well. Search for case studies to learn about successful projects they’ve implemented, but go beyond that. Talk to the companies they mention and get the company’s side of how the project went.
Communication
Your IT provider should know their industry inside and out, but they also need to be able to explain what they know to you in a way that’s not full of jargon and insider terminology. When you ask questions, you need to be able to understand the answers. And, of course, business owners have varying degrees of technical understanding; a software company who hires a managed IT security firm to handle their external security will expect a different level of communication than a small business owner with no real grasp of why they need this protection.
When something goes wrong, you need to trust the explanations and answers you’re getting – and you need to be able to get them in a timely fashion.
Resources
Business needs change. As new technologies evolve, your business may want to adopt different software and hardware. In order to keep your data and systems secure, a managed service provider has to have the capabilities and experience to help you manage your entire business IT infrastructure.
It’s also important to know that an IT cybersecurity provider can change with you. If you need more lines on your VoIP, can they provide that? If your virtual server needs more space, how can they help? If you decide you want to implement a unified communications plan with a BYOD policy, are they going to be there to help?
Understand not just what your provider can do for you today, but what they’ll be able to do tomorrow.
“The question is already becoming ‘How can we use capabilities like artificial intelligence (AI), network automation or edge computing to support rapidly growing infrastructures and accomplish business needs?”
– Ross Winser, senior director and analyst at Gartner
Innovation
Technology is evolving so rapidly that companies need to watch daily developments in the infosec world. This is one reason why businesses opt for managed services; it’s too much for even a CIO to stay abreast of every detail and keep their portion of the company running. Managed IT services companies have a lot of potential for innovation – which is key to staying up to date in a changing environment.
Jeff Coco at Security Magazine advises companies to watch out for the Kodak trap.
Maintaining high quality managed IT services isn’t just about helping companies understand what they can already do; it’s about showing them new and exciting solutions that don’t add cost and can streamline efforts.
“Prior to the wide availability of digital photography, Kodak focused on developing cameras and film. Unfortunately, when digital cameras made those technologies fall by the wayside, Kodak was slow to innovate and as a result, they found themselves way behind a lot of other companies in the photography market.”’
Cost
It’s sometimes an ugly topic, but let’s be honest: the cost of managed security services matters. After all, cost is one of the reasons businesses turn to managed IT.
The cost of onboarding new IT personnel, paying salaries and benefits, maintaining physical space for the employees themselves, and managing all the capital improvements involved in an in-house IT system can all add up. With a managed IT services business, there is simply a set fee that is paid at regular intervals.
Using the as-a-service model of IT management gives companies the ability to choose the services they need most right now. They may decide, after all, that they can handle their communications systems in-house, but that their external security and VoIP should be handed off to someone with more experience and time. This can allow businesses to shift away from the big costs of maintaining legacy phone systems without needing to make a big investment on their own in new equipment.
“The economic impact of the classic in-house role has been estimated to take up as much as 70% of a company’s IT budget just to keep business-critical systems working.”
Don’t be afraid to ask other companies what they pay for their services and what they get. Your potential providers should be able to have clear and honest conversations about this as well. IT isn’t an area where you want to automatically go with the lowest bidder – but you also may not need the flashiest company. Find a provider who can meet your company where you are. Reviews, conversations, and detailed planning can help ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth and the security you need.
Working with a robust managed IT security services company is one of the most important ways you can protect your business. From data theft and resource theft to data mining and simply lost data through disasters and poor backup techniques, companies are at risk. Managed IT teams can work with you to create the best possible solutions for your company. For many businesses, this can feel like an incredible relief. With so much happening in the infosec world, it can feel like a dangerous time to be a business owner. A great IT team is a partner in keeping your business safe from the threats in the digital world.
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