Why it’s worthy considering Managed Security Services

The beginning of a year signifies a new start and time to assess our gains/losses in previous year and plan a fresh. One thing that is certain in 2020 is that the cost of cyber crime will rise! As business strive to offer efficient, effective and 24/7 services to their clients on mobile or internet then they should also be prepared to contain cyber attacks 24/7.

Cyber Incident is now ranked as number one business risk by Allianz Risk Barometer. This is no surprise given that businesses are digitizing their operations as well as the threat landscape keeps expanding. In Kenya and larger Sub Sahara organizations (public & private) are delivering more services on internet and mobile. This are great strides for the continent but however the achievements can be lost in seconds if proper security defenses are not put in place. Secondly, cyber security was always considered an IT activity in the data center. However, there is a shift by management to appreciate cyber threats as a business risk which needs to be managed from an organizational level.

Managing cyber threats can be draining for most of the organizations. Keeping up-to-date with the latest defense techniques, having to upscale the skills of the IT/Cyber Security teams and monitoring threats 24/7 can be an enormous task for most organizations. Faced with the challenges, organizations are considering outsourcing the service to a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP).

Benefits of working with a MSSP

One key benefit of working with an MSSP is that they are in the cyber security business hence will have more expertise and know-hows on managing cyber risks. It’s their core business and hence can invest in technology and people who will offer defense and monitoring services to their clients.

Closely related to the above, is that the IT team can freed from fire-fighting and focus on other business objectives which enables organization appreciate the value of IT. Cyber security isn’t the core business for a bank, telco or insurance player but its a risk that the businesses MUST address. Businesses should outsource the service and let their internal teams focus on objectives that will drive growth of the business.

Managing Cyber Security internally can be costly. From acquisition of tools to getting teams trained on how best to defend the business may need a huge budget. Not forgetting the cost of license renewal for the tools acquired. Many businesses aren’t willing to invest that much in security given that there isn’t a direct RoI. Transferring management of cyber security to a MSSP then makes business sense and will definitely be an effective cyber resilience strategy in the long run. MSSP can invest in acquiring tools, training their team which is their core business and as the client you get qualified and skilled teams managing your cyber security.

More expertise, save on your cyber security spending and get your internal team to focus on objectives that drive business should be key objectives for any business as the new year starts.

Have a great a Cyber resilient year ahead!!!!