6 Reasons Why Your Company Needs Managed Security Services

If your car had a serious breakdown, would you try to fix it yourself? Unless you were yourself an experienced mechanic, you'd likely enlist professional help to ensure optimal results. The same logic applies to modern cybersecurity: While there are undoubtedly steps you can take on your own to improve your security posture and even recover from an incident, it's usually best to seek an expert's help - in this case, via managed security services. This is especially true for SMBs, which typically lack the resources necessary to sustain the type of 24/7/365 security operation required for fending off a full range of threats.

A managed security services provider (MSSP) such as Telesystem operates and oversees the solutions in question, whether they're next-generation firewalls (NGFW), intrusion detection systems (IDS), managed Wi-Fi services or anything else that bolsters defense. Since the MSSP is handling the technical nitty-gritty of your network security, your team can focus on other projects and not become bogged down analyzing and responding to a constant stream of alerts. Think of it as creating a moat and posting guards outside a castle: While you're still responsible for what happens inside its walls, you have excellent outer layers of defense.

There are many reasons to adopt managed security services. We've compiled the top ones here to help you make an informed decision about whether they're a good fit for your SMB.

Reason #1: Better threat intelligence and protection

SMBs are at elevated risk of cyberattacks. According to Verizon's 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, almost 60 percent of all these attacks affect small businesses, many of which struggle to fend off varied techniques such as hacking, malware distribution, social engineering and DDoS campaigns. Managed security services make it much easier to ensure your defenses are effective. MSSPs deploy platforms such as Sophos Managed Security XG, which contain up-to-date threat intelligence and corresponding protections, such as isolation of infection. Plus, their teams provide 24/7 security monitoring so that you aren't caught off-guard.

Reason #2: More cost-effective cybersecurity

Let's say you were going to build your own on-site network security infrastructure, one that could deliver the same level of protection as a top-flight managed security services suite. The costs would quickly mount and likely exceed your budget. Over half of SMBs spend less than $5,000 annually on cybersecurity and most do not even have dedicated security teams. With managed security services, you get more economical protection. The solution price covers the tools the provider will use, plus the labor of operating it and keeping everything patched and updated - all for far less than what you would spend in-house. From that perspective, it's a bargain.

Reason #3: Earlier detection and fewer breaches

Cybersecurity is a fast-paced domain. Numerous new threats emerge on a daily basis and the sheer number of alerts can be overwhelming without the right personnel and infrastructure in place. Appliances such as NGFWs and IDS have become the table stakes for managing the influx of security events in day-to-day network traffic. Fortunately, many MSSPs include these solutions in their services, allowing for relatively quick detection and isolation of the anomalies and high-risk types of traffic that precipitate data breaches. The average breach costs an SMB $117,000, or enough to potentially jeopardize their existence. Managed security services lessen the risk of such a devastating event ever occurring.

Reason #4: Real scalability for your operations

As your business evolves and possibly grows, your security measures should scale accordingly. This is easier said than done given the associated costs and complexity. Even something as seemingly straightforward as adding a new guest Wi-Fi to your medical practice's office can turn out to be quite complicated once you factor in the need to properly segment traffic, comply with regulations like HIPAA and manage bandwidth, in addition to securing your systems from common threats that can enter through the network. A fully managed wireless solution meets these requirements while relieving you of the burden of managing all of the moving parts. Moreover, by handling most of this management from the cloud, the MSSP can seamlessly scale its services to multiple sites.

Reason #5: Peace of mind

What if a critical piece of security equipment stops working or a key service stops working? Downtime is already costly simply in terms of lost opportunities, and cybersecurity problems can make matters worse by prolonging the outage or making sensitive data unavailable. By working with an MSSP, you reduce your exposure to such technical glitches, since the managed service is constantly monitored and often supported by robust and redundant infrastructure. If something does fail, the MSSP can quickly address the issue to avoid any risky gaps in coverage. Additional services such as 4G LTE-based failover may be included in the package to provide further assurances against downtime or performance issues.

Reason #6: Synergy with other hosted and managed services

Many MSSPs, like Telesystem, also offer services such as hosted VoIP. Combining managed security services with solutions for communications and internet access gives you a holistic solution from a common provider, with a single point of contact for any support or upgrade inquiries.

Telesystem will help you navigate your IT challenges and find the right managed security services for your organization. Take a look at our security page or contact our team directly to learn more.