Businesses are increasingly trending toward outsourced IT organizations for security issues. According to a recent survey from CIO.com, outsourcing IT security especially appeals to SMB’s who don’t have the bandwidth or resources to handle the complexity and evolution of IT security on daily basis.

Nearly 70% of the businesses surveyed utilize a managed security service provider (MSSP) for some type of security need, including:

• Penetration testing
• Spam filtering
• Threat intelligence
• Log monitoring
• Firewall & anti-DDoS protections
• Business continuity and disaster recovery

From CIO.com:

Outsourcing security functions appeals to small and midsize shops in particular because their resources are often already stretched thin and most lack the bandwidth to adequately perform security functions, experts say. Smaller organizations are also less likely to have people with specialized security skills who can focus on staying on top of a continually shifting landscape.

The growing and evolving threat of data breaches, and the increased scrutiny on CIO’s and IT-leaders is another reason outsourcing IT security is trending.

“[Because] security ends up being sliced up and doled out to 10 percent of several people’s jobs, but because no one beyond the CIO is responsible, it’s very tough to make progress or to stay on top of it the way you have to,” Brendan O’Malley IT security consultant explains. “You absolutely need to have some kind of outside support.”

The experience across industries and business-types is also seen as a benefit of using a managed service provider for security. Because MSP’s work with a wide variety of organizations with varying compliance standards and regulations, tactics used in the legal field, for example, are just as relevant to those in manufacturing or non-profits. That experience proves valuable for SMB’s looking to free resources, while gaining the benefits a cutting edge managed service provider.

Your Philadelphia Outsource IT Security Leader

SSI is the Philadelphia area leader for outsourced IT. Working with clients throughout the region to deliver innovative technology solutions that protect and optimize their business’s IT with managed services and cloud technologies.