via CSO Online
With budgets tightening and security talent difficult to find, a growing number of organizations are taking a close look at Cybersecurity as a Service (CSaaS) – an outsourced model of managing risk on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Managed security services are not new, but the CSaaS market has changed in recent years as data sharing and digital work systems have shifted. Organizations that may not have prioritized security are increasingly turning to outside specialists to meet their cybersecurity needs. Some of the services CSaaS provides include threat monitoring and detection and incident response.
Let’s examine some of the reasons why businesses are opting for CSaaS.
- It provides access to expertise
Many organizations are struggling to keep up with the complexity of today’s threat landscape. Breaches and attacks have become more costly over time and the methods bad actors use to exploit their targets have grown more sophisticated. More than half (54%) of IT managers say cyberattacks are now too advanced for their teams to deal with, according to a 2021 Sophos survey of 5,400 IT managers across 30 countries.
CSaaS provides access to a team of experts and expertise that may not be available in-house. In a word, your CSaaS provider becomes your security team, and the right vendor will be able to answer your questions, provide 24-7 monitoring, and be there in the event of a breach or attack.
- It’s scalable
CSaaS is not a set of services that you must accept without flexibility. Hiring a CSaaS provider allows an organization to choose their level of service (and change those options annually).
This is a big plus, as over time, the level (or type) of service needed may increase or decrease, depending on such factors as internal growth, existing security tools, in-house skillsets, and so on. For many organizations, CSaaS can be a starting point to launching a comprehensive security program – but the services needed will shift with the threat landscape and the organization’s strategy.
- It’s affordable
Staffing an entire security team is simply not an option for many organizations – especially small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB). CSaaS gives organizations the option for a comprehensive security program without having to compete for hard-to-find skill sets while hiring new staff.
While there is a cost associated with hiring a CSaaS provider, much of the expensive overhead is eliminated by outsourcing the security function. Without staff to train and retain, CSaaS reduces the financial burden while also still giving the company the security it needs for managing risk.
The bottom line
Many larger organizations need to keep a dedicated internal staff focused on security. But for others, turning to a vendor to provide cybersecurity makes the most logistical and financial sense; it also means the business can get back to focusing on its core mission, and that’s always good for business.
