Nine Reasons Why You Need to Outsource Your Cybersecurity Monitoring
It’s no secret that cyberattacks are becoming increasingly commonplace. Recent statistics show that 16 billion records were impacted by data breaches in 2019 while 8 billion records were breached in the first quarter of 2020 alone. What’s more, the average cost of dealing with the fallout of a data breach is also rising; in the United States, an average breach can set a company back a whopping $8.1 million.
Many companies have found that, in today’s day and age, managing cybersecurity in-house isn’t enough. That’s why business owners from all industries and geographic locations are turning to IT managed service providers to ensure corporate data is safe from malicious third parties. Here are nine compelling reasons why you may want to consider doing the same.
Experienced Help and Assistance
If your business has faced challenges finding and hiring competent IT personnel, you’re not alone. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that there will be about 1.3 job openings for IT professionals by the year 2026; however, recent stats show that only about 60,000 students graduate from university computer science training programs each year. The skills gap is real and it affects companies ranging from law firms to dental offices.
IT managed services have experienced technicians on hand who can make up for the skills gap by providing experienced technical assistance to solve any IT-related challenge you’re facing. These technicians have years of work experience under their belt and so can quickly recognize problems and take action to not only deal with them but also prevent future issues.
Impartial Advice and Solutions
It’s easy for an in-house technician to become so familiar with your current IT set-up that he or she doesn’t recognize potential problems and vulnerabilities. That’s why it’s wise to get comprehensive cybersecurity assessments from a third-party service provider. Getting outside help can not only help you catch cybersecurity issues but also enable you to find new ways to boost efficiency and improve services.
24/7 Cybersecurity Monitoring
Hackers are on the job at all hours of the day and night. That’s why you need a team of IT experts that can monitor your IT network 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. IT managed services have the personnel needed to keep an eye on your IT set-up at all times, making it possible for your firm to prevent data breaches by nipping potential attacks in the bud.
Specialized Expertise
Many firms benefit from specialized IT services. Custom software creation can enable you to streamline business procedures, improve cybersecurity, and increase employee productivity long-term. Software integration can help you automate tasks to save manpower and reduce errors. Specialized assistance for IT hardware and/or software that isn’t commonly used by most companies can eliminate downtime while freeing personnel to help you reach your core business goals. Many IT services offer specialized forms of assistance that would be difficult if not impossible to find otherwise. What’s more, working with an IT service gives you the freedom to scale needed services to save money.
Layered Protection
IT managed services use a wide range of tools and strategies to keep your firm safe from attacks. These forms of protection include, but aren’t limited to:
- Implementation of best cybersecurity procedures such as the selection of strong passwords, use of two-factor authentication, and data segregation to ensure employees have access to the data they need to do their jobs but not more
- IT cybersecurity training and testing for employees
- Penetration testing
- Endpoint security
- Mobile device security
- Next-generation firewall software
- Installing and regular updating of anti-virus and anti-malware programs
- VPN services
- Cybersecurity assessments
- Disaster recovery planning
- Business continuity planning
- Web and email filtering
Dedicated Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity should be a high priority in every single business. You need a team of experts that can focus solely on keeping your systems safe from breaches, malware, ransomware, and other attacks. Hiring one or two IT experts for your firm and thinking that is enough is a dangerous fallacy that could lead to disaster as there is no way that one or two people can pay attention to all your cybersecurity needs while managing other important aspects of your IT network. On the other hand, working with a team of IT service experts ensures you have IT technicians whose sole job is to protect your network from attacks.
Industry Compliance
If you work in the medical industry, you need to ensure you are in compliance with HIPAA regulations at all times. Law firms must abide by stringent data storage guidelines while firms that partner with the DoD or DoD contractors will need to comply with CMMC standards to continue regular business operations. IT managed service providers that specialize in your chosen industry can help you stay in step with local, state, and/or federal industry regulations
Cost Savings
An eye-popping 96% of business professionals say that partnering with a managed service has enabled them to save money. It’s not hard to see why considering the high cost of hiring full-time IT personnel coupled with the expense of testing various IT set-ups to see which one works best, paying for software that cannot be scaled to meet your needs, and paying for IT repairs when needed instead of preventing breakdowns in the first place. Partnering with an IT managed service costs money but it can help you save a considerable amount of money long-term.
Time Savings
As a busy business owner, you need to focus on your core goals, not spend your valuable time updating software, fixing network glitches, and filtering emails. Outsource these services to the experts so you can grow your business with the knowledge your team has the IT set-up they need to do their jobs quickly, easily, and efficiently.
Cybersecurity Monitoring from Alvarez Technology Group
Alvarez Technology Group offers top-tier cybersecurity monitoring services to keep your network safe long-term. We can assess your current cybersecurity situation, upgrade your set-up to provide cutting-edge, layered protection from all types of threats, and monitor your set-up 24/7 to ensure it remains secure and working at optimal speed and performance. Get in touch with us to learn more about how IT cybersecurity tools and services or to make an appointment with one of our expert IT consultants.
