Mitigating Risks in IT Budgeting: Building Contingencies in an Age of Uncertainty
Effective IT budgeting is not just about allocating funds to various projects and initiatives. It’s also about recognizing that uncertainties and risks are inherent in the process. To ensure the success of your IT projects and the overall health of your organization, it’s crucial to incorporate contingencies into your IT budget.
In this blog, we will discuss the importance of risk management in IT budgeting planning and offer advice on building contingencies to handle unexpected challenges.
The Role of Risk Management in IT Budgeting
IT projects are prone to various risks, ranging from technology failures to unforeseen market shifts and cybersecurity threats. Without a proactive approach to risk management, these challenges can derail your budget and jeopardize your organization's strategic goals. Here’s why risk management in IT budgeting is paramount:
- Protects Investments: Risk management helps protect your IT investments by identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities early in the planning stage. Utilizing this proactive approach enables your business to take preventive measures to mitigate or eliminate risks.
- Preserves Budget Integrity: Unexpected setbacks can drain your IT budget, leaving little room for necessary adjustments or future projects. By incorporating contingencies, you can preserve the integrity of your budget and respond to challenges without compromising your end goals.
- Enhances Decision-Making: A well-thought-out risk management strategy provides valuable insights that guide decision-making. It allows you to assess the potential impact of risks and make informed choices about resource allocation and project prioritization.
Incorporating Contingencies into IT Budgeting
Now that we understand the significance of risk management, let’s talk about how to incorporate contingencies into your IT budget effectively:
- Identify Potential Risks: Identify potential risks that could impact your IT projects. These risks can be categorized into various areas, such as technical, financial, operational and external factors like market conditions or regulatory changes.
- Assess Risk Impact: Evaluate the potential impact of each identified risk on your budget and project timelines. Determine which hazards are a high priority and require immediate attention.
- Quantify Contingency Funds: Allocate a portion of your IT budget as contingency funds. The amount allocated should be based on the assessed impact of identified risks.
- Prioritize Contingency Use: Clearly define criteria for when and how contingency funds can be utilized. Ensure that decisions to access contingency funds are made in alignment with your organization’s risk tolerance and strategic objectives.
- Monitor and Update: Regularly monitor the status of your identified risks and the utilization of contingency funds throughout the budget cycle. You must be prepared to update your plans as new threats emerge or existing risks evolve.
- Communicate: You’ll want to maintain transparent communication with stakeholders about the presence of contingency funds and their intended use. Effective communication ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding risk management.
- Learn from Experience: After completing IT projects, conduct a review to assess the effectiveness of your risk management and contingency strategies. Use these insights to refine your approach to future IT budgeting cycles.
Develop a Plan with Sentry IT Solutions
Proactively safeguard your organization's investments by effectively managing risks and implementing contingency plans in your IT budgeting management process. If you find yourself navigating unfamiliar terrain, let us provide you with the tools necessary to stay on course. Together, we can assess the potential challenges in this uncharted territory and work on a comprehensive plan to equip you to meet them head-on. When you're prepared to begin, don't hesitate to contact us today.
Defend Your Assets with Cybersecurity Training in Orlando
Most data breaches start with an email. But it’s no regular email.
67% of data breaches are due to attacks like phishing, according to Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report. Knowledge obtained from cybersecurity training is the most critical tool for team members to recognize cyberattacks and phishing emails.
This article covers how training your team can turn them into security assets instead of liabilities. If you’re interested in empowering your employees with up-to-date cybersecurity solutions, contact Sentry IT Solutions.
Who Do Cybercriminals Target?
Cyber attackers are especially interested in small and medium-sized businesses. SMBs are not investing their time as much in security as larger organizations do, like Fortune 500 companies. When hackers know that SMBs might not have the proper IT infrastructure to prevent cyberattacks, due to their inherently smaller budget, this makes them an easy mark for cyber attackers.
Unfortunately, this trend of picking on the little man isn’t going away. Nearly half of all cyberattacks target SMBs, and 60% of SMBs close shop within six months of a cyberattack, according to Inc. Business disruptions, downtime and reputational damage all threaten to turn your business into a statistic. Investing in cybersecurity training can reduce the risk of a cyberattack, so every small business needs to take security precautions to ensure protection.
What You Can Do
Teaching your employees to spot scams is a great way to turn your employees from your weakest link into defenders of your data. You can teach them to exercise caution before reading emails. They can learn to compare the sender’s name and URL. They can scan for bad grammar and “urgent” messaging often used in phishing emails, and you can teach them to think twice about clicking on links from unknown senders.
Many companies outsource their IT needs, including cybersecurity training, to ensure they remain protected against a data breach. Sentry IT Solutions specializes in integrating a comprehensive solution that protects your systems and data, with cybersecurity as a top priority.
Training educates your team on security tips that minimize the risk of an accidental data breach through human error. From identifying online scams to knowing what comprises a secure password, employees have the potential to turn into a human firewall.
Most businesses have experienced a cyberattack. It’s now a regular news report: cybercrime is on the rise. And cybercriminals are growing more sophisticated in their techniques. It’s crucial to arm your team with the knowledge they need to ramp up their cybersecurity.
Get Help
With Sentry IT Solutions, employees are trained to understand it’s a shared responsibility to stave off cyberattacks. They recognize the accountability of their actions when they’re online, and the dangers are illuminated with educational programming.
It can even be fun with simulated phishing attempts and celebratory awards for people who take the appropriate steps to keep the company safe.
Once cybersecurity training is a matter of course for all employees, new or existing, the training is updated to make it a permanent part of employment at your business. This serves the purpose of allowing to keep the training updated to keep it in line with current cyberthreats.
Neither you nor your employees want harm to come to your business. Give them the tools they need to stave off cyberthreats and protect your data now and later, when cybercriminals are upping their game. Outmaneuver the bad guys with your greatest asset —your team. Call us today.
Three IT Challenges You Can Conquer with Co-Managed Services
Co-managed services vary by provider, but they may be the ideal solution if your business doesn’t have adequate internal resources to manage your infrastructure. These services include system monitoring and maintenance, incident management, system patches and upgrades. The co-managed model can lighten the burden of infrastructure management and free up your internal IT team so they can focus on strategic planning and bigger development projects.
If your team struggles with any of these three challenges, it’s likely an affordable co-managed IT partnership will improve your productivity and profitability.
1. Shortage of Skills
Hiring in-house IT professionals with the skill set to meet your business needs is challenging and expensive. Hardware, software and security upkeep is becoming increasingly complex, and system management and maintenance are increasingly labor-intensive. From cloud, server virtualization, network and data security to endpoint, analysis and forensics, the infrastructure you need to run a successful business requires a lot of time and expertise.
Co-managed IT is an effective solution when the traditional MSP model doesn’t feel like the right fit. You can customize your service level so your team gets the support they need without relinquishing total control.
The best part is you won’t have to fire your internal IT team. Rather, your internal staff will only get better and will have more time to work on projects when you partner with an MSP.
2. Security Concerns
Today, cyberthreats are one of the major concerns for most businesses—and rightfully so. Protecting your data, network, hardware and software requires a commitment to continuous research on the latest malware and hacking trends. You need—but may not be able to afford—the financial or opportunity cost of round-the-clock monitoring. Even a highly skilled staff must prioritize projects and security threats, increasing the likelihood that hackers or malware can slip through cracks in your system.
A co-managed IT partnership will provide 24/7/365 monitoring, reinforcing your system with continuously updated anti-virus software and firewalls. A secure IT partner will often intercept threats before you even notice anything is wrong and protect your systems from after-hours hackers.
3. Modest Budget
Even if you already have a stellar in-house IT professional or team, it can be tough to manage unplanned tech expenses. The buy-break-fix cycle can be as expensive as it is time-consuming. Haggling with vendors is exhausting, making it difficult to get the technology you need at a price that meets your budget. Recovering from disaster can be financially disastrous—that’s if your IT team has the resources it needs to do so in the first place.
Partnering with an MSP to co-manage your IT makes it easier to budget expenses. They’ll help you deal with vendors and forecast technology costs, so you aren’t stuck with astronomical emergency bills. You can choose a flat-rate service plan that suits your needs and finally take the guesswork out of budgeting. Contact us to learn more about which of your IT challenges are prime candidates for co-managed services.
Three Ways AI Cybersecurity Can Benefit Your Business in Orlando
The days of solely using passwords to secure your network and data are over. And your IT team may be comprised of some of the best tech experts you know — but in today’s digital landscape, and with the ever-evolving skill of cybercriminals, it may not be enough to give your Orlando-based business the protection it needs.
The answer may be found in AI cybersecurity, which is artificial intelligence that picks up where your team leaves off. Implementing AI doesn’t mean you have to fire your IT staff. Rather, it will enhance their work through constant network monitoring and lighten their burden, freeing up members of your team to spruce up your website or carry out other duties to help grow your business.
Here are some other ways AI cybersecurity can make you safer than you have been before:
It Quickly Detects Intruders
AI can teach itself all about your network and quickly familiarizes itself with who is permitted to access to it — and more importantly, who isn’t. Whether through passwords, retinal scans or multiple layers of authentication, AI acts as your company’s ultimate gatekeeper. Unlike humans, who need to carefully vet everyone requesting access and decide on each one, AI cybersecurity does so quickly and without compromising quality, preventing employees and customers from having to sit through long wait times while waiting for access.
It Never Gets Tired
Wouldn’t it be great if hackers had the decency to stick to a schedule? Or how about if they called ahead to let you know what time they planned to infect your network with ransomware? Of course, that isn’t the case. The truth is your company needs network monitoring 24/7/365 — but you and your employees are human and need to rest. AI cybersecurity, however, never drops its guard. Whether it’s 3 a.m. on a Sunday or while the turkey is getting carved on Thanksgiving, you will have the peace of mind in knowing your network is getting effective and efficient cybersecurity. No matter when a cybercriminal intends to strike, AI is ready to detect and resolve the incident long before it starts.
It’s Consistent
Even your best, most reliable employees miss a day of work on occasion. Sometimes it’s sickness, other days it’s car trouble — or they have some well-deserved time off coming their way. AI cybersecurity is always there. It never needs a sick day or arrives late because of a blown tire. You know what to expect, when to expect it. And knowing that AI has your cybersecurity covered no matter the time, day or holiday means you can allow your staff to serve your customers and enhance your business.
Get the Protection Your Business Needs
Equipping your network with AI cybersecurity is essential. If you decide to outsource your cybersecurity to an MSP in (location), make sure it is one that offers the most modern, innovative and up-to-date protection available. It needs to provide your business with round-the-clock monitoring designed to protect your data throughout all hours of the night. Using old, cookie-cutter cybersecurity is your way of inviting smart, sophisticated hackers into your network. Contact our team to learn more about our cybersecurity services and schedule a no-risk, no-cost security assessment.
Why You Need Business Continuity and a Disaster Recovery Plan in Orlando
Do you ever ask yourself if your business could survive a data disaster? Wondering if you have a proper business continuity and disaster recovery plan is a legitimate response to the growing threats that could devastate your business. And when you consider that 60% of small businesses fold after a disaster like a cyberattack — it’s easy to see why it’s on your mind.
Disasters are on the rise. And at this point, it’s not a matter of if your company will face a potential catastrophic event. It’s when.
Catastrophic events can come in many forms, including hardware and software failures, cybersecurity breaches and forces of nature. These disasters create downtime, which causes your company to lose money. According to Gartner, IT downtime costs a business an average of $5,600 per minute. Disasters can also cause your business reputation to plummet, which is a better fate than having to close your doors altogether — see above stat.
When the time comes and your business is experiencing a data disaster, will you be ready?
To be prepared for the worst, businesses need to have a solid backup and disaster recovery plan in place. Here’s what you need to know regarding backup and disaster recovery, what catastrophes are out there and how to be prepared when the time comes.
What Is Backup and Disaster Recovery and Why Do You Need It?
Backup and disaster recovery are two separate things. Each serves different functions to help keep your company running following a crisis. Backup is the act of copying your data. With multiple copies of your data available, you’ll be able to access vital information in case of accidental deletion, server problems or data corruption.
A disaster recovery plan is a process that gets your IT, network and data up and running after an incident as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Forbes reports that one in three businesses is unprepared for a disaster because they don’t have an adequate or updated plan. Of those companies that don’t have a plan, 90 percent fail following a disaster, according to FEMA.
4 Types of Disaster That Can Affect Your Business
Your backup and disaster recovery plans need to cover a variety of scenarios because a data crisis can appear in many forms. Here are some of the most common causes:
- Human Error — According to Chief Executive, humans cause roughly 90 percent of cybersecurity issues. An employee deletes critical data files or code on the back end of the website. An intern opens a suspicious email attachment containing a virus from an unknown address. These mishaps are avoidable, but when they happen, they can be costly.
- Data Breaches and Cyberattacks — As companies continue to do more work online, it creates more opportunities for data breaches and other cyberattacks. Hackers can use ransomware to block access to computers or data in exchange for money, use spyware to copy data off your hard drive, and steal passwords and credit card numbers using phishing techniques.
- Hardware and Software Failures — How reliable are your servers? Hardware failure is the #1 cause of data loss, according to Dynamic Technologies. If there are no data backups or redundancies in place, a down server can bring your business to a halt.
- Natural Disasters — Fires in California, flooding in the Midwest and hurricanes along the Southeast have devastated local businesses in recent years. On a smaller scale, lightning can strike your office and set the building on fire. Will your data be safe if the servers get destroyed?
How We Can Help
If you run a small to medium-sized business and realize your company is not ready for a data crisis, let Sentry IT Solutions help. We create customized business continuity and disaster recovery plans in Orlando that fit your needs. With services such as onsite and offsite backups, cloud storage and enhanced security, your company will be back up and running in minutes after an incident, instead of days.
Contact us today to get your business prepared.
5 Ways to Strengthen Your IT Disaster Recovery
Severe weather, data breaches and global hacking attempts can have a disastrous effect on businesses, costing them a lot of money for every minute of unplanned downtime.
Instead of letting the unthinkable damage your business, fight back with these five strategies:
1. Back Up Your Data to the Cloud
After natural disasters, businesses can find their physical equipment and servers submerged in water. Storing data on-site is convenient, but an unexpected disaster can wipe away years of information in the blink of an eye. Migrating your data to the cloud means your information is protected and readily available — and you’ll never have to start from scratch.
2. Prepare for a Remote Workforce
Remote workforces have become more than a trend. Businesses must be prepared for employees to perform work outside of their office workspaces, so having a plan in place that will allow your team to access necessary tools from any Internet-enabled location is essential.
3. Monitor for Breaches and Respond Quickly
A massive breach of data from Equifax — one of the three largest credit agencies in the US — lasted from May to July 2017 and wasn’t reported publicly until September. The Social Security, credit card and driver’s license numbers of more than 145 million consumers were compromised, and victims rushed to protect themselves against potential identity thieves. Avoid losing your customers’ trust by proactively monitoring for breaches, shutting them down promptly and providing a full inventory of the damage to those affected.
4. Don’t Underestimate Human Error
People are unpredictable — a large majority of cybersecurity issues stem from human behavior. Employee negligence is the number one cause of data breaches at small to medium-sized businesses. Comprehensive training can close the gap, but it’s not foolproof. Combine your team’s efforts with strong cyber security policies.
5. Update Outdated Software Programs
The WannaCry Ransomware Attack, which resulted in hackers taking control of more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries, targeted weak and outdated software for which a patch was already available. Hospitals, airlines, police departments and more were brought to a halt, and paying the ransom did not result in the return of data. Update your software regularly to fix vulnerabilities and avoid becoming an easy target for hackers.
If you’re running a business and don’t have an effective disaster recovery plan, this isn’t the time to panic, this is the time to act. A solid IT disaster recovery plan will protect your business and get you back up and running with minimal — if any —hassle and downtime.
Unsure where to start? Our expert team will take the time to learn the ins and outs of your business to develop and implement a customized recovery plan that fits the specific needs of your industry. Stop running on borrowed time. Contact us today to get started.
Ransomware and More: 5 Common Cybercrimes in the Finance Industry
It seems a new type of cybercrime is arriving every day – but some types of cyberattacks stand out among the rest. This is especially true in the finance industry, which is filled with malicious actors looking to take advantage of confidential financial information. How can finance businesses deepen their safety measures like phishing scam protection?
To protect your organization from the negative effects of cyberattacks, like reputational harm, financial damage and legal battles, it’s imperative to know what cyberattacks to look out for. Let’s explore common forms of attacks below and how to recognize them before they affect your organization.
1. Ransomware
In 2022, ransomware was involved in 25% of all security breaches. It’s safe to say that ransomware is a highly common cyberattack – and it’s here to stay. During this attack, cybercriminals will enter an organization’s system, encrypt all data and ask the affected party to pay for a decryption key to access the stolen data again. Some malicious actors will go a step further and threaten to release the data or release sensitive information about a company to encourage faster payment.
2. Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are another all-too-common scam that affects businesses of all sizes, including entities as large as Facebook, Google and Sony Pictures. Here, a cybercriminal will mask themselves as a trusted entity, tricking the victim into clicking a malicious link through email or other forms of communication. Once the victim clicks on the link, they can leave the system vulnerable to malware, ransomware or spyware.
3. Third-Party Vulnerabilities
Financial organizations may work with third parties to help improve their customer service, resolve company pain points, or even to try and improve their security efforts. However, they also leave themselves open to the risk of attack from these parties – particularly if those parties are not secure themselves.
4. Noncompliance
One threat not often considered is one which comes from noncompliance with the latest industry security standards. Here, cybercriminals will target organizations with out-of-date tech or security strategies, as these often leave the greatest vulnerabilities. As a result, it’s essential to keep up with the latest cybersecurity standards, like those provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
5. Insider Threats
The biggest threat to your company could be right inside your organization itself with an insider threat. Employees are the most commonly cited insider threats, but they could also include outside consultants, board members or vendors – essentially, anyone with access to inside information about your company. They may attempt to sabotage the company’s security or even attempt to steal company secrets.
How We Can Help You Avoid These Attacks
Now that you know the most common cyberattacks to look out for, the question becomes how you can avoid becoming a victim of one. The goal is to find a security partner who offers true cybersecurity protection – and that’s something we can help with. Partner with an MSP like us that can help develop a perfect security strategy for your business. Contact us today to learn more about how our services can aid your business. We can’t wait to speak with you!
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your business with security, check out additional blogs in our resources section.
Your IT Budget: 5 Steps to Breaking Down the Essentials
The benefits of creating an IT budget go far beyond simply helping you with cost savings. Doing so also aids your organization in identifying and developing your IT initiatives across your departments. With a better understanding of your goals and your budget, you can boost productivity, efficiency and communication across the board. The question is, how can you get started with your IT budget planning? It all starts with a few simple steps.
What Is IT Budgeting?
IT budgeting involves allocating funds to various IT systems, services and projects across all departments. Funds can be used for one-time expenses like towards a specific project or for reoccurring costs like hiring and staffing employees. Moreover, companies can create a full-scale annual budget or smaller-scale, one-time project.
Examples of what might be included in your IT budget include:
- Human Capital: Compensation, recruitment or contracted staff
- Hardware: Laptops, mobile phones or servers
- Software: CRM software, subscriptions, operating systems or upgrades
- Maintenance: Third-party maintenance, warranties or repairs
- Security: Anti-virus, anti-malware or anti-ransomware software
Of course, each company has unique IT needs and will therefore have different budget priorities, bringing us to our next step.
IT Budget Planning Best Practices
To determine your budget, you can implement the following best practices and tips.
1. Plan Out Your IT Budget Calendar
Knowing your deadlines of when expenses are due will help give you a more accurate view of what your budget looks like month-to-month or year-to-year. Moreover, it also helps give the necessary stakeholders a better idea of what expenses need to be accounted for.
2. Review Past Budgets
The best way to prepare for the future is to review the past. If applicable to your company, look at past budgets you set for IT to see what you previously allocated. This will help you justify your chosen budget numbers and provide more of a structure.
3. Strategize Your Spending
To go about strategic spending, consider your company’s overall goals and objectives with each department’s priorities. This will require discussion and, more often than not, negotiation among departmental leaders and stakeholders. However, being clear about expectations will help give everyone a better understanding of what they can prioritize with their own tech.
4. Leverage New Technology
Technology is always evolving, providing plenty of new opportunities to increase efficiencies and business growth. However, knowing which technologies could empower your company takes a bit of research and discussion across teams. Moreover, many companies make the mistake of shelling out for new equipment without considering factors like integration, deployment and management. If opting for new technology, ensure you can account for all of these.
5. Remain Flexible
Of course, as with any type of budgeting, unforeseen expenses do pop up. Make certain you leave yourself some breathing room in case this occurs, so you don’t find yourself having to overspend.
Start Budgeting Right Today
Creating an IT budget is an imperative part of determining your spending for your IT needs. It all starts with asking yourself the right questions – what are your priorities? How do they align with your company objectives? What opportunities are there for you with your technology and tech solutions?
Fortunately, a B2B IT partner can help you better understand what IT tech and solutions you need to focus on to help you better determine your budget. Contact us today to get started.
Breaking Down Your Options and Costs: Your Guide to Outsourcing IT
Outsourcing IT has become an integral part of managing a business by freeing up resources, cutting costs and snuffing out disasters. Small businesses often outsource IT to ensure that their networks and business systems remain protected and efficiently running. Offloading all or some IT tasks can allow a business to focus more on primary goals rather than the day-to-day management of running a robust IT infrastructure.
If outsourcing your IT sounds like it would benefit your business, then let’s take a deeper look into the different options that your IT partner can assist you with, as well as cost structures that can help fit your budget and needs.
4 Service Options that Your IT Partner Can Assist You With
An outsourced IT partner can help improve your IT strategy by:
- Monitoring and Managing Your Systems: IT partners help to monitor and manage your servers, networks, applications and any devices to ensure there are no issues. Any disruptions are addressed in a timely manner and fixed before they become a bigger issue.
- Backing Up and Implementing a Disaster Recovery Plan: In case a disaster has occurred, IT experts ensure that all your critical data is backed up and accessible so operations can continue as normal, and your data stays protected.
- Improving Telecommunications: Your outsourced IT team can handle communications between your staff via the telephone or other communication platforms to ensure all correspondence stays on track.
- Managing Your IT Infrastructure: IT partners can manage all aspects of your IT infrastructure, including your hardware, software and network resources.
- Monthly Subscription or À La Carte
- These services are typically offered either as a monthly subscription, or à la carte, depending on the needs and budget of your business.
- Monthly Subscription: You will pay a flat fee every month for all-inclusive services. Many companies prefer this option for the consistent costs, and it works well when it comes to budgeting.
- À La Carte: You will only pay for the services that you need. This can provide a business with more flexibility and freedom—and often comes at a lower price than having to pay for a monthly subscription.
In Conclusion
Managing your IT is never a simple task. Technological problems can occur, which can lead to downtime, delays in getting projects completed and a hit to your company’s reputation. . Outsourcing your IT can lead to increased productivity and free up allocated resources to help you focus more on running your business.
The key is finding the right business partner to help you with your needs and understand what you are looking for in an IT services provider. By partnering with MSPN, we can help implement and manage your IT strategy. Let us get to know you and your IT plans. Don’t wait—give us a call!
If you want to learn more about outsourcing IT and what it could mean for your business—check out additional blogs in our resources section.
3 Reasons to Partner with an MSP On Your Next Digital Clean-Up: The Benefits of IT Lifecycle Management and More
You don’t have to be an IT expert to perform a cursory digital clean-up on your personal devices. Deleting unnecessary files, applications and videos is easy to do and can make room for files and applications you actually use. But if you’re attempting IT lifecycle management, penetration testing or security vulnerability assessments, you’ll want to consult with a managed services provider.
What Is a Digital Clean-Up?
Most IT professionals agree on what a comprehensive digital clean-up should include. Tasks range from performing an inventory of your IT infrastructure to identifying tools needing an upgrade to running security scans. Let’s discuss three areas of your business integral to a digital clean-up that require professional IT support.
1. IT Lifecycle Management
If you’re looking to optimize your technology, IT lifecycle management is a good place to start. This strategic approach to tech takes into account the full span, or lifecycle, of technology — from purchase and implementation to decline and retirement.
Benefits of IT lifecycle management services
Outdated technology can lead to lags in production, slow connectivity and the dreaded downtime. That goes for hardware like laptops, servers and devices, and software like Microsoft Windows, macOS and antivirus. IT lifecycle management services can identify lapsed updates and root causes of poor performance that result in:
- Increased downtime
- Increased costs
- Underutilized resources
- Drops in staff productivity
- Increased compliance and security risks
How much could a few hours of downtime cost your business? One study from the Ponemon Institute found the average cost of just one minute of downtime can be as much as $9,000.
2. Cybersecurity Services
If you’re concerned about your cybersecurity risks, there are a variety of professional assessments that can give you a clear picture of your current stance. The truth is, what you don’t know can hurt you. And for businesses in industries like healthcare and finance with strict compliance requirements, routine security assessments are essential. These include:
- Dark Web Monitoring: This service scans thousands of websites and forums on the dark web for your confidential information. If something is found, you get a notification so you can take action.
- Security Vulnerability Assessments: These scans review your IT infrastructure for security weaknesses. Potential gaps are identified, ranked by level of risk and remediation tasks are recommended if necessary.
- Penetrating Testing: Also known as pen testing, this service simulates a cyberattack on your IT infrastructure. Performed by an experienced managed service provider, these tests are useful in uncovering potential vulnerabilities.
According to CSO from IDG, 60% of listings on the dark web could harm companies.
3. Backup and Disaster Recovery Strategies
Like most technology, backup and disaster recovery strategies aren’t one-and-done efforts. Business models evolve, employees come and go, and what worked last year may not necessarily work today. A digital clean-up should take into account:
- Testing plan and response procedures evaluation
- New or updated critical business assets and applications
- Recovery personnel updates
2 of 3 midsize businesses suffered a ransomware attack in the past 18 months, according to ConnectWise.
Most small to medium-sized businesses don’t have the time or the resources to conduct a thorough digital clean-up, and that’s okay. Partnering with a managed services provider, or MSP, can help with expert, cost-effective solutions to decrease downtime, strengthen cybersecurity and much more. If you’re interested in partnering with an MSP, reach out. We have the tech professionals to keep your business running at its best. Contact us today.