For a lot of SMBs, improving security will be an utmost priority. But, without the expertise in-house to manage such an initiative, this can actually prove to be one of the hardest challenges in the business plan. The demands of daily business can of course be very draining on time resources, and the more business you do, the more information there is to protect on your IT systems. The result is an accumulation of security problems that a lot of SMBs find that they neither have the time nor the skills to manage effectively themselves.

From weak passwords to cloud backup, and from patch management to antivirus software, there’s an ever-increasing list of IT security measures that need to be dealt with on a daily basis, and when a firm has little or no in-house IT resources that can deal with it, then one of the best solutions is to reach out to a managed services provider who can supply the expertise, and the time needed, for you.

Boosting security with managed services is something that is very simple to organize, and, once it’s all set up, you’ll be able to sIT back and relax in the knowledge that some of your most pressing demands are being dealt with professionally and securely. If you’re thinking about using managed services to boost your IT security, then you’ll probably have something very specific in mind that you’ll be needing help with. So below we’ve put together a list of 5 ways that you can boost your security with managed services to help you see what IT is that you might not have at the moment, but really can’t do without.

Patch Management Patch management involves testing, acquiring and installing multiple patches to an administered computer system. Patches are pieces of software that are designed to update a computer program to improve or fix it. This includes mending vulnerabilities in security and other bugs, and generally improving performance and usability. The tasks involved in patch management include: deciding upon which patches are appropriate for which systems; maintaining knowledge and data of existing patches; ensuring that all patches are installed properly; documenting all patch procedures; testing systems after installation. Popular software in particular needs regular updates as these are naturally the most attacked. Microsoft issue updates every monthly in their regular ‘Patch Tuesday’ to address issues with Windows and Office apps for example and all of the large software companies release regular updates too.
Antivirus Management Antivirus management will secure your computer system from viruses, Trojans, spyware and any other malicious software (malware) that may become a threat to a network. A robust antivirus system is imperative for any business. Indeed, IT is the growing trend that companies are having to put more time and effort into protecting their online assets as hackers are constantly developing ever more powerful tools to break into systems. These tools are becoming harder to defend against, and are causing more and more damage with each new generation. Outsourcing managed services to ensure that your company’s online information is suitably protected is, as a result, becoming increasingly vital for the SMB.
Remote Backup Sometimes referred to as cloud backup, a remote managed backup service can provide your business with the backup, storage space, and recovery of the important computer files on your system. Typically, the remote backup service will collect, compress, encrypt and transfer all of the required data onto a remote server or other off-site hardware. One of the beauties of utilizing a remote backup system is in the fact that full assurance and guarantee can be given that whatever is backed up will be recoverable should disaster ever strike the in-house system. What is more, the security available when using cloud or hybrid storage will almost invariably be much higher than what can be physically provided in-house, ensuring that the most critical data to your business will always be protected.
Firewall Management Implementing, monitoring and managing a firewall needs to be at the top of the list of priorities for safeguarding an organization’s security. As the malware threats of today become increasingly sophisticated, successfully managing a firewall can indeed become a rather complex and timely initiative. By looking to managed services to provide around the clock, customized firewall protection, your company can free up valuable time and resources, safe in the knowledge that you will always be ahead of any threat that comes anywhere near your system.
Access And Identity Management The last thing that any company wants to have to worry about is an unauthorized person gaining access to the internal computer system and all of its important files. Indeed, your customers will expect that basic level of security to be implemented at the very least. But making such a thing secure and free from vulnerability can be a very difficult thing to achieve without the expertise to implement an advanced access and identity management service onto a system. Managed services can take care of that for you, ensuring that you organization’s data, systems and applications are completely safeguarded from unauthorized access.

Managed services also monitor systems 24/7 for issues to catch them before they occur. Whilst IT used to be the case that you only ever called IT support when something went wrong, these days support companies offering managed services can preempt problems, saving the supported business money. Downtime costs a business a lot and for the SMB it’s thought that IT accounts for around $7,900 in lost revenue per minute.

V&C Solutions offer all of the above IT services and more to boost your online security. VisIT our Services Page, or get in touch to find out more.