Every company faces cyber risk. Every business is also faced with technology obsolescence. And almost every business struggles to hire and retain technology experts to face down these risks. How is a business supposed to maintain its technology needs while facing these long-term challenges?
For most companies, the choice is between building an in-house IT staff or hiring an outsourced provider with a team of support professionals.
Staffing in-house is a difficult proposition. Almost all small to medium-sized businesses will require a help desk technician to handle day-to-day troubleshooting. And any growing business will probably need at least one IT manager to handle larger administrative issues and technical processes. If we average out salaries, staffing for those positions could cost from $110,000 to $200,000 per year, not including benefits.
However, hiring an outsourced Managed IT provider can be uncomfortable for many organizations. While the costs can be more predictable and there are no staffing issues to manage, you need to find a partner that you trust with your security credentials, can quickly respond to questions and concerns and understands your business processes.
But given the costs and complexity involved in staffing an IT department, outsourcing to a team of IT experts is an increasingly sensible solution. To see what we mean, let’s first look at how outsourcing technology management addresses one of the biggest challenges a business faces: cybersecurity.
INSURANCE IS NO INSURANCE
One way that organizations address the threat of a cyberattack is cyber insurance. However, don’t think that you can simply take out a cyber insurance policy to cover for your company’s vulnerabilities. Each insurance broker’s evaluation process differs, and certain minimum standards are almost always required for an organization to obtain and keep cyber insurance coverage.
These minimum requirements often involve controls and best practices to protect customer accounts or key security accounts, like those that unlock access to high-value systems and data. Insurers also want assurance that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is being used to authenticate access. These controls must conform to industry standards, like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) or the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Cyber insurance is one option that can help protect your business against losses resulting from a cyber-attack, but only if you can provide a high level of security infrastructure. In other words, there is no shortcut to security that does not involve a high level of technical expertise. In other words, just to qualify for cyber insurance, an organization needs to deploy the highest levels of cybersecurity expertise, something that is difficult to retain in-house.
THE OUTSOURCED OPTION
Running an organization is hard enough without worrying about when your PCs need to be upgraded or if your network is protected from evolving security threats. Outsourcing your IT gives you the best of both worlds – the freedom to focus on your business operations while still moving forward with your technology investments with guidance from a professional team.
By taking responsibility for tedious (but necessary) tasks like network monitoring off your IT team’s plate, your people will be able to focus on more strategic initiatives. Trust me, your IT team doesn’t enjoy patching servers or upgrading software; they want to be doing projects and strategic work. Outsourcing your IT support duties will allow you and your team to focus on your forward-looking business technology, not just IT maintenance.
Outsourcing your IT support also lets you better allocate your organization’s resources. Instead of spending money on IT resources, you can spend your money on product development, marketing, and the customer experience. As a start-up or small to medium business, you can’t afford to spend excess money on IT while your competitors invest in ways to gain an edge in the market.
We understand that entrusting your essential technology infrastructure to an outsourced provider can make some businesses uncomfortable. Partnering with an IT provider can save you money, enhance your existing IT team, and take the pressure of IT management away so you can focus on driving the business. Contact us today to receive a customized assessment that will show you why Managed IT makes sense for your business.
