How Can Managed IT Services Improve Cybersecurity For Your Business?
There are plenty of reasons to choose a managed IT solution over an in-house IT department. In addition to gaining valuable expertise, you can also save money on unnecessary payroll costs. The high cost of skilled labor means that this advantage alone can justify outsourcing this critical infrastructure, but there are many other reasons to consider hiring a managed IT firm.
One surprising advantage to this approach is improved cybersecurity for your entire company. With ransomware attacks on the rise, this is no longer a fringe concern for large or highly connected companies. Keep reading to discover how businesses of any size can benefit from increasing their resilience against cybersecurity threats.
The Current Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
Cyber attacks can come in a variety of forms. These include everything from denial-of-service attacks that aim to shut down critical infrastructure to ransomware attacks that will drain your bank account. In addition to these newsworthy attacks, many subtle threats exist as well. For example, sophisticated phishing schemes may acquire sensitive passwords and allow attackers to access customer data.
Even if your company already has a highly skilled IT department, you may not have experts on hand who are familiar with the endless variety of attacks available to hostile parties. The threat landscape constantly changes, requiring cybersecurity professionals to stay informed and ahead of potential attackers. Falling behind may mean leaving essential infrastructure or data vulnerable.
How Managed IT Firms Can Help Your Business
One of the key advantages of working with a managed IT company is benefiting from their specialized knowledge. Unless you operate in the tech industry, your IT department likely serves a support role rather than a central part of your business operations. Your IT personnel may have invaluable domain-specific knowledge for your company, but they may lack expertise in the cybersecurity arena.
Outside firms can help you conduct a detailed audit of your current vulnerabilities. This audit will help you to understand where gaps may exist and what you can do to bulk up your defenses in those areas. Additionally, moving some of your IT infrastructure (such as databases) to a managed service means you can benefit from significantly improved security for those systems.
Even better, tying less of your IT infrastructure to on-site equipment and personnel reduces your vulnerability to phishing attacks. Since your employees won't need direct low-level access to the hardware, they won't be able to provide administrator info, root passwords, or other sensitive info to attackers.
If you're considering outsourcing some or all of your IT needs to a managed firm, be sure to factor in how this decision can significantly improve your systems and data security. The relatively low cost of working with experts can save your business large amounts of money by preventing damaging or costly attacks. Contact a managed IT service for more information.
