Building and maintaining robust cybersecurity systems takes time, money, and a lot of resources. Businesses must constantly train their IT team to sharpen their skills to keep up with the latest threats and solutions while also finding ways to improve their processes.
This task could be too much for some IT teams.
As a result, many businesses outsource their IT and go for security experts with a clear advantage in the field. These experts are called Managed Security Service Providers or MSSPs.
What are these MSSPs, and why are they important to know? More importantly, how does your business benefit from them? We’ll talk about them in this article.
At Intelligent Technical Solutions (ITS), we’ve been helping hundreds of clients strengthen their network defenses so they can focus on growing their businesses. In this article, we’ll give you the five important advantages of hiring a Managed Security Services Provider for your business.
5 Benefits of Hiring an MSSP for Cybersecurity
MSSPs are third-party organizations that help alleviate the burden on IT teams by providing your business with outsourced monitoring and management of security devices and systems.
But if this is a third-party service, why would you want an MSSP to manage your cybersecurity and get access to your sensitive data? Here are five reasons why:
1. Advanced threat detection
Being experts in the field, MSSPs’ job is to identify and thwart critical threats before your business gets compromised. To do that, these providers not only invest in high-end software that backs their service but also put their money into team members' cybersecurity training.
In turn, they can quickly and efficiently recognize and respond to any problem in your network and help you prepare for future problems.
2. 24/7 IT security support
Cyber attacks do not stop, and neither should your network defenses. Unfortunately, your in-house IT staff cannot be in the office around the clock. Most of the time, they can only work from nine to five and then go home.
During their rest period, who monitors your IT environment?
A cybersecurity team that is available 24/7 is your best option. In case an incident breaks out in the wee hours when no one is awake, an MSSP can save the day. They provide real-time support and preventive security services day and night to make sure you’re always protected.
MSSPs have flexible solutions depending on the client’s needs; they can scale their services along with your business growth. This means you can increase the security staff as deemed necessary without hiring and training new team members and integrating new processes.
3. Cost-effective
Cybersecurity is expensive, and as far as the current trend goes, the cost will only be growing.
If you currently have two to three in-house employees in charge of maintaining your network security, that can already cost you a couple hundred thousand a year. Imagine how much more that will cost you in the next few years.
With outsourced cybersecurity management, you can ensure your business protection by balancing efficiency and cost.
Jeff Farr, a Security Consultant at ITS, says, “Since security providers already have years of experience, they know how to do the job with [fewer] people involved. So, better knowledge, less money, and more options.”
Going with an MSSP comes with fewer complications and a smaller price tag.
4. Extensive experience
Hiring an MSSP also let small to medium-sized organizations access highly qualified IT personnel without doing the hard work of recruiting them. These security experts have extensive experience in different industries, so you are confident they know what they must do to protect your network.
5. Up-to-date security standards
Evolving cyber threats forced several regulatory bodies to tighten business compliance requirements and security standards.
And given the limitation in time and resources, in-house teams may struggle to keep up with the process. MSSPs, on the other hand, have sufficient experience in this area. They act according to the latest security standards and ensure that their clients follow the same criteria.
Their extensive experience in cybersecurity is one major factor in ensuring clients’ compliance with national and international security regulations, such as HIPAA and CMMC. Compliance is critical for keeping business operations flowing without legal hurdles.
Considering Co-managing Your IT Security?
Although extremely helpful, hiring an MSSP may bring possible friction between in-house IT and managed IT. Fortunately, there is a way to protect your network without giving up control over your cybersecurity.
Let’s say you have your own Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), but his role strictly entails management, not day-to-day security. In this case, co-managed security should work.
By following this model, an MSSP will operate in conjunction with your existing security guidelines. However, Farr mentioned that the boundaries must be well-defined for this model to work. “You need to clearly state what the MSSP and your in-house team are going to do. Basically, decide on who has control of which system,” he said.
Need Help Choosing your Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP)?
Cybersecurity is a critical aspect of business growth and longevity, and this has proven to be true time and again. If you want to ensure network protection, hiring an MSSP can be the smartest option because of:
- Advanced threat detection
- 24/7 IT security support
- Cost-effectiveness
- Up-to-date security standards
- Efficient cybersecurity processes
As an MSSP with years of experience handling cybersecurity for businesses in varying industries, ITS is more than knowledgeable in creating tailored solutions to different cyber issues. If you want to move on to the next step, learn how much you need to spend on an MSSP.
