5 key reasons to outsource cybersecurity

With the current shortage of talent (over 2.7 million professionals needed worldwide), it’s no surprise businesses in every industry are considering reasons to outsource cybersecurity.

Because cyber threats are constantly on the rise. The number and type of threats continue to evolve. The costs of inaction are huge.

Managed Service Providers (or MSPs, as they often prefer to be known) are the increasingly widespread answer to this problem.

Here is why the advanced cybersecurity talent and systems MSPs employ are becoming the most popular solution for organisations worldwide:

5 reasons to outsource cybersecurity

1) Access enhanced capabilities and experience

Only the largest businesses can expect to retain the same quality of in-house cybersecurity expertise that an MSP provides.

Cybersecurity is a large and complex field. Strategies for protection are constantly evolving to match the latest threats.

Without an ever-updated store of technical knowledge, any in-house team that’s required to handle all of a business’s IT needs can’t be expected to keep pace with cybersecurity developments too.

This improves the response time too – with a whole team working on a helpdesk, multiple issues can be looked at sooner, with different people working to resolve different problems at the same time.

2) Benefit from Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Think of this as a live monitoring system that makes sure your cybersecurity protections aren’t being breached.

The method varies. But it will frequently include cloud-based tools and other automated systems that detect threats to all of an MSP’s clients’ systems.

This removes the need for human monitoring of the day-to-day while enabling swift remediation and human action when necessary if issues do occur.

3) Reduce cybersecurity costs

Having an in-house cybersecurity team costs money. Especially when you factor in the fact that these specialists are currently in high demand – and low supply.

It’s estimated that businesses in the UK alone are searching for more than 33 000 cybersecurity specialists. This has meant salaries are going up.

That’s in addition to the usual costs of recruitment, plus holiday and sick pay. Not to mention the costs associated with distracting your IT team from the jobs you actually pay them to do.

This often leads business leaders to put off putting this kind of expertise in place. Risky indeed when the costs of a data breach can be so eye-wateringly high.

4) Review, assess, accredit, and recommend

Regular reviews of your cybersecurity are vital. Part of the role of an MSP is to review your current cybersecurity setup and recommend how to improve it. 

Some companies try to do this in-house. Unless you have your own highly skilled and experienced in-house cybersecurity team though, this is more than a little risky.

The cybersecurity field changes fast. If your team isn’t on top of the latest trends, you have no defence in place.

Your MSP should work with you to assess past, current, and evolving dangers and suggest next steps for how to go beyond your current protections.

This is vital if you want to meet the requirements of important accreditations like the UK Cyber Essentials scheme. Many larger organisations won’t partner with businesses that don’t have this proof.

5) 24/7 monitoring

Hacking attempts and other cyber threats don’t occur conveniently during normal working hours.

Equally, fast action is critical if you don’t want your business to suffer serious harm from something like a data breach or phishing attempt.

MSPs have round-the-clock MDR systems in place and many will deliver emergency on-site visits in the event of issues as soon as they find out that a breach or an attack happened.

It’s a common refrain of many Managed Service Providers that when their clients outsource cybersecurity to them, they deal with issues before their clients are even aware of them.

Is this the kind of cost-effective, round-the-clock protection your business needs?

Let’s talk it over. Dial A Geek has helped over 900 businesses in Bristol and around the UK master their cybersecurity.

Set up a cost and commitment-free chat with Chief Geek Gildas Jones today.

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