Outsourcing cybersecurity can be a daunting prospect, as many companies fear outsourcing can be costly and can rob them of the IT systems control they enjoy. Other concerns include insecure data storage on the part of IT security outsourcing companies. However, the knowledge of all pros and cons of outsourcing IT security and how to find the right partner will overcome any concerns. Read on:
What is IT Security Outsourcing?
IT security outsourcing is when you allow certified cybersecurity experts from an externally managed service to handle your company’s cyber protection needs.
Most businesses are increasingly realizing the need for outsourced IT security. When your organization involves an outsourced security provider in your incident response plan, you can access the resources you need to recover from a cyber-attack much more quickly.
Outsourcing your cyber protection also ensures your company gets maximum protection from experts who specialize in securing and defending your company and personal data. Furthermore, some providers may offer extra services to ensure your company resolves and recovers from an attack or incident, all in one stop.
Outsourcing IT Security Pros and Cons
Surrendering your cybersecurity needs to a vendor comes with both pros and cons:
Pros
For example, some of the advantages your organization stands to gain from SOC IT security outsourcing include:
Access to professional IT security skills
External IT security is available immediately. IT security outsourcing companies come ready with complete expertise in handling similar environments. Plus, they have access to security threat monitoring and research databases.
Seamless implementation and scalability
Today’s security operations need to contend with complex IT systems and sophisticated threats. Therefore, it’s easier to implement an outsourced team than an in-house department. Also, outsourcing IT security allows your company to expand and update its systems continuously without investments that are too expensive.
Guaranteed and uninterrupted services
Unfortunately, bad actors are always hawk-eyed 24/7. They can quickly swoop down on their victims at any slightest chance. Luckily, reputable IT security outsourcing companies will offer you complete service around the clock to stay safe all the time.
Access to threat intelligence
The evolution of threats happens at a faster pace than that of defense tools. Outsourcing IT security with a company specializing in cybersecurity is the safest way of staying a step ahead of hackers.
Save on IT security expenses
An average organization can easily crumble under the weight of cybersecurity operational and infrastructural costs. IT security outsourcing companies can take advantage of the economy of scale to cut down these costs by 50%.
Cons
Some of the disadvantages of outsourcing IT security needs include:
- Little knowledge of your business
- External storage of threat data and analysis
- Lack of control in some cases
The Reasons Why Outsourcing IT Security is Not Scary
With the proper partnership for outsourcing IT security, you can reduce the cons and reap big rewards from its advantages. Let’s demystify some of the fears of outsourcing your security needs:
You Won’t Lose Control of Your Security
Transparency is at the core of every professional vendor’s business activities- they’ll do everything in a way that reflects your brand. To that end, the vendor will involve you in devising the most suitable solution for your business.
At a bare minimum, the vendor should provide you with their contact details, so steer clear of those whose sites look “amateurish” or don’t provide enterprise email addresses. They’re red flags of fly-by-night or amateur vendors. Even if an IT security provider looks professional, remember to call them and ask for references. The legitimate ones will not hesitate to provide this information.
Be sure they give you complete access to their security-based activities and explain any jargon to you. Also, you want complete and period reports outlining the hits and misses plus areas that need improvement.
Finally, get everything in writing. The vendor should sign a written contract that outlines what you expect of them specifically. Therein, they should express their willingness and ability to guarantee their promises and put everything in the open.
It’s Cost-Effective & Affordable
Cost is one of the leading reasons that make companies outsource their IT security needs. Imagine the expenses of having an in-house security team: floor space, technology, hiring, training, replacement, monthly salaries, and benefits.
Cybersecurity vendors have all these things at the ready since keeping companies secure is their core business. So scaling their security technologies and staff is seamless and less costly.
These vendors can offer flexible costs based on projects, agents, and contracts. That way, you can cut down your costs tremendously and predict them precisely.
Is your organization a startup or small business? Outsourcing IT security provides a level ground for you to stay competitive without having to invest in a separate department. Just be sure to choose a partner that will scale your security needs to fit your organization, size, and budget.
Your Data Will Be Safe
If you decide to undertake IT security on your own, you may fail to provide comprehensive data safety. Why? Cybersecurity requires investment in costly infrastructure, staff, and time.
On the other hand, outsourcing IT security to reputable providers gives you peace of mind in knowing they handle multiple companies in various industries. Therefore, they have robust protocols to adhere to the standards of those industries. Other clients like you often leverage these rock-solid technology, protocols, and settings to bolster security without spending too much.
Plus, you can verify your IT security provider’s reputation in many ways. Think testing, website visits, reviewing certifications, researching genuine reviews, asking around, and much more. If you do your research homework right, you don’t have to worry about your data getting into the wrong hands.
You’ll Be Confident in Skilled and Experienced IT Security Service Providers
Reputable IT security providers come with in-depth knowledge of how to keep known and unknown threats at bay. Using cutting-edge technologies and skills, the experts examine loopholes in your systems thoroughly and monitor them around the clock.
The professionals will also maintain your endpoints’ security integrity and implement water-tight practices like firewall management, application vulnerability management, and configuration management.
It’s worth noting that as technologies continue to skyrocket, hackers and fraudsters continue to joyride on outdated practices. Also, every day sees these bad actors bombarding employees and companies with new threats. Before these companies detect anomalies in their IT systems, the hackers would have gained much mileage ahead of them.
Experienced IT security outsourcing companies can detect any threat way before they take hold and incorporate the most appropriate response. They can also implement advanced techniques like adaptive modeling and risk prediction to keep you safe from advanced threats like Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).
You Can Focus More on Your Core Business Rather than Cybersecurity Monitoring
Maintaining a competitive edge is getting increasingly hard as market complexities continue to evolve. IT security professionals can help you build and cement that competitiveness. How? They’ll take away the fear of a novice or dodgy vulnerability threatening to bring your company down. With such worries cleared out of your way, you can better focus on what you do best- creating better services or products and making your customers happy.
While you focus on your core business, the cybersecurity area will no longer remain unattended. The cybersecurity experts will incorporate multiple holistic practices that will boost the speed of detecting any threat manifold. Additionally, your workforce will no longer have to stop everything to attend to a looming threat since outsourcing IT security comes with the latest technology and technicians ready at your disposal.
Conclusion
So long as you play your cards well and choose the right IT security company, you don’t need to worry. Some of the things to consider include:
- Experience
- Skillset
- Types of clients
- Availability of custom solutions
- Products and technologies
- Scalability of solutions
- Multi-layer approach
At Clearnetwork, we know what works and what doesn’t work. Learn more about our SOC as a Service, and let’s make your company secure.
