Introduction
Technology today requires competent IT staff or third-party consultants to be available in case of a system error or breach of security. These techs perform an array of services for companies and enterprises including problem analysis, user requirements and solution development, system upgrades and recommendations, system training and project management. As most businesses rely on computer technology for most business functions, any problems, especially security breaches, need to be solved quickly and efficiently. If the company network experiences downtime such as server outage, the business productivity can grind to a halt. Office computers, laptops, wired and wireless networks, VoIP, email and more must be available at all times. Security systems must be top-notch and up to par to combat the highly sophisticated attacks by hackers.
Some businesses are large enough to hire full-time IT staff while other small businesses simply cannot justify the added cost. In this case, many small businesses will employ the services of an outside IT security consultant, which will be used on an as-needed basis. With so many choices, it can seem like a chore just to find an outside IT consultant or group that can handle your business security needs in a timely and efficient manner.
Quick tips for choosing the right IT security consultant
There are several main factors that must be considered when choosing the right IT security guy. You need to find someone who is knowledgeable about what they are doing. Check references and qualifications to ensure that this person or group can meet the security needs of your company. Make sure they can fulfill their promises, can meet deadlines and has good availability. If something goes wrong, you need the problem solved as quickly as possible as your business can’t afford to wait for problems to be taken care of. Make sure they are honest and give you fair billing. This is information you can find by checking references. Now let’s take a look in more in-depth detail at factors that should be considered when choosing an IT security firm or consultant.
Capability and Availability
An on-premise IT department is there to cover anything that goes wrong, any time it happens, and can work quickly to get the problem solved and the business functioning as it should. But is it possible to have high availability when using an outsourced IT service?
The answer is yes, it is possible, but it requires additional work such as changing the practice of management, monitoring supplier services and maintaining a backup source in case of supplier failure. There are a number of questions to be answered when searching for an IT security service that can offer high availability.
Find out if the IT security consultant offers a solid support policy. This is extremely important to determining if this will be a long-term solution.
Ensure that the security firm can meet all of your needs, not just some. Don’t settle for less than what your business needs to properly be secured. Share all of your needs with the IT service and listen to their solutions so that you can be satisfied that all of your business needs will be met. Voice all concerns to ensure that they can be properly addressed.
Once you have determined if the IT service will be able to maintain your current business security needs, you need to determine if they will be able to handle increased growth in your company such as higher number of users, increase in number of transactions, additional storage and more. If they don’t offer excellent scalability, you may want to keep looking.
Many IT services have been forced to close down due to the downturn in the industry. If possible, determine if the IT security service will be able to withstand any further deficiency in the industry. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to predict if the company will be able to survive long-term but you can lower the risk by asking a few questions.
Are their prices far cheaper than their competitor’s prices? Find out if the prices seem too good to be true. That may sound like a good thing but it should also be cause for suspicion.
In relation to their client base, are they spending too much on infrastructure? And do they have any past dealings of selling out people’s assets or causing losses?
Determine what the security service’s policy is for handling customer issues and if there is an escalating scale (to upper management) in place to deal with customer complaint issues.
By determining the answers to these questions, you should be able to determine if an IT security service will be able to maintain your company’s needs by offering scalability, availability, good support, speedy response time and a solid customer support policy.
Flexibility
One of the important concerns which must be determined is how flexible the IT security service will be in working with you in order to meet all your business security needs. You should determine what you are paying for, how much it will cost and how fast it will be delivered to you.
You must determine how you will be paid- some IT techs will work by the hour on an as-needed basis. They will be called when something happens that requires their services. Some work for a fixed-rate and offer a specific number of hours per month. Some offer “roll over” hours in case the hours your company pays for are not required within that month.
A security breach can be devastating to a company, especially when sensitive and confidential company data is at stake, and time is of the utmost importance. How quickly the IT service is available to have someone at your company when something goes wrong must be determined in great detail. The process for obtaining help from the service must be determined as well. They should offer phone, email and online communication for customer service when something goes wrong so that you can get instant help when it’s most needed. A swift response time is essential.
Remote monitoring is more efficient and saves time
A competent IT service will offer remote monitoring among its services as well. This not only helps diagnose a problem when it happens, but many problems can be solved from a remote location, without requiring the IT service to send a tech to the business. This saves time in a situation when every minute is crucial. You must determine if an IT security service offers remote monitoring and if it will benefit your systems.
One of the key benefits of remote monitoring is that the IT service can actually prevent security breaches and other problems directly from their location. At the first sign of a problem, IT can begin working on the problem to determine if they can stop a breach before it happens or stop an already successful breach from causing any more harm.
Ensure dispatch policies can meet your business needs
If the problem is not able to be solved from a remote location, a tech or group of techs must be dispatched to the physical business location. So when considering an IT security firm or consultant, you must determine if the company’s dispatch policy will meet your company’s needs. You need to find out the process of what happens when someone from your business contacts the IT service for help or when an alert is sent from the remote monitoring system. Find out what the policy is if trouble strikes after hours such as midnight or early morning hours. And what the process is if all the IT techs from the service are out on calls for other clients.
You need to have clear vision of the exact process that takes place whenever a security breach occurs. Usually when a problem occurs that can’t be solved remotely, the IT service will send a communication alert to a tech so that he can take care of the problem. But what if the tech is unable to respond within the agreed timeframe? Find out if the IT service has a backup plan that ensures that your call for help will not go unnoticed. Be sure that they have a competent system in place to ensure that a problem is solved as quickly as possible.
Mobile Security
With the ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) movement sweeping through companies worldwide, mobile security has never been so important. If your company allows employees to use their own mobile devices to access company data, strict policies must be set to ensure the proper security of company data. Access permissions must be set to ensure that users only have access to company data that they are allowed access to. Be sure to outline all BYOD functions in your business so that the IT security service will be able to properly secure the flow of data. Sometimes this includes monitoring of the mobile device and a strict policy outlining which cloud services may be used for company data, as well as who has access to data stored in the cloud.
Detailed billing
Make sure that the IT service gives you a detailed report of all services provides and a breakdown of costs. Be sure that the report includes an itemized list of problems and what solutions were provided. If hourly, get a breakdown of services provided during the billed time. This helps prevent any miscommunication or disputes over billed time or services.
Overview
Choosing the right IT security firm or consultant can be greatly beneficial to your company’s security. You must work with them as though they are a part of your company. Be sure your IT security service is capable of meeting all your business security needs including mobile and BYOD services, has high availability and is highly reliable as well. Determine the amount of control that IT will have. Choose a service that is in close proximity to ensure fast dispatch in case a security issue arises. Determine if the IT service’s rates fit within your budget and be sure that the company provides detailed billing reports. Review the policies so that you know the exact procedure that occurs when a security issue arises.
As cloud and mobile trends increase, so do the responsibilities of making sure that company security is top-notch. Choose an IT security firm or consultant that is up-to-date on all the latest trends and can handle all of your modern business security needs. You must be prepared when security issues happen so that they can be taken care of immediately.
