If you’re like many businesses today, there’s a good chance you’ve made this one mistake with your IT security: You don’t budget for it. Or if you do budget for it, it’s not enough to really protect your business.
Time and time again, business owners decide NOT to invest in IT services. Instead, they go it alone or skip it completely. Or they might approach an IT services company and ask, “What do you charge for your services?” They don’t ask, “What will I get for my money?” or “How can you meet the needs of my company?” This is a backward approach to IT – and it’s a big mistake.
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A lot of businesses wait until something breaks before they fix it. And even then, they may take a “patchwork” approach to fixing the problem. They are reactive rather than proactive. Sometimes taking a reactive approach is fine, but other times, and depending on the circumstances, it can lead to even bigger problems.
When it comes to network security, for example, being reactive to problems can be downright dangerous. It’s not just hackers you have to worry about. There are power outages, data loss, equipment failure and more. In IT, a lot can go wrong. But if you’re proactive about cyber security, you can avoid many of those pitfalls.
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If you’re planning a network upgrade or expansion within the next 6 months, listen up. You might be able to save yourself quite a bit of money AND give yourself a more productive workplace by switching to a cloud-based network instead of an on-premises server. However, cloud computing is NOT a good fit for every company, and if you don’t get all the facts or fully understand the pros and cons, you can end up making some VERY poor and expensive decisions that you’ll deeply regret later.
That said, for some clients, cloud can actually lower their IT costs, greatly improve the ability for remote workers to connect and work, simplify their entire IT infrastructure and genuinely solve a number of technology problems they’ve been trying to work around for years. So which is right for you? Let’s discuss…
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1. Implement a mobile device policy. This is particularly important if your employees are using their own personal devices to access company e-mail and data. If that employee leaves, are you allowed to erase company data from their phone? If their phone is lost or stolen, are you permitted to remotely wipe the device – which would delete all of that employee’s photos, videos, texts, etc. – to ensure YOUR clients’ information isn’t compromised? Further, if the data in your organization is highly sensitive, such as patient records, credit card information, financial information and the like, you may not be legally permitted to allow employees to access it on devices that are not secured, but that doesn’t mean an employee might not innocently “take work home.” If it’s a company-owned device, you need to detail what an employee can and cannot do with that device, including “rooting” or “jailbreaking” the device to circumvent security mechanisms you put in place.
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A question we often get is “Why do I need to be on a managed IT plan? Can’t I just pay you to come out and fix things when they’re broken?” While that’s a legitimate question if we were talking about your washing machine or car, that’s definitely NOT the right approach to a critical and dynamic IT system that your company depends on; you DEFINITELY don’t want to wait until something “breaks” before you try and fix a problem. One virus or hacker attack or one slip-up can cause permanent data loss, extended downtime, a violation of data-breach laws, bad PR, loss of customers and sales, and a host of other expensive problems.
Additionally, under a “break-fix” model, there is a fundamental conflict of interests between you and your IT firm. The IT services company has no incentive to stabilize your computer network or to resolve problems quickly because they are getting paid by the hour; therefore the risk of unforeseen circumstances, scope creep, learning-curve inefficiencies and outright incompetence are all shifted to YOU, the customer. Essentially, the more problems you have, the more they profit, which is precisely what you DON’T want.
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You, the CEO of a small business, are under attack. Right now, extremely dangerous and well-funded cybercrime rings in China, Russia and the Ukraine are using sophisticated software systems to hack into thousands of small businesses like yours to steal credit cards and client information, and swindle money directly out of your bank account. Some are even being funded by their own government to attack American businesses.
Don’t think you’re in danger because you’re “small” and not a big target like a J.P. Morgan or Home Depot? Think again. 82,000 NEW malware threats are being released every single day and HALF of the cyber-attacks occurring are aimed at small businesses; you just don’t hear about it because it’s kept quiet for fear of attracting bad PR, lawsuits, data-breach fines and out of sheer embarrassment.
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