26 Apr Better security costs you less, not more

One of the primary concerns regarding IT budgets is security investment. Often, there’s a high level of hesitancy when it comes to the integration of new systems, as cybersecurity covers broad areas, involving numerous data-facing points and hardware. Furthermore, discussion around security enhancements often involves hard-hitting terms and scenarios: disaster, breach events, ransomware, regulation compliance – they’re enough to give any administrative lead pause.

However, strong investments in cybersecurity and data protection are arguably profitable, costing businesses less, not more.

Cybersecurity and Profitability

An even more astonishing prospect is that cybersecurity provisions can create profit. Does your enterprise handle cybersecurity services? Are you an insurer? Then it’s possible to leverage the cybersecurity conversation into healthier margins and improved client-side relationships.

Shifting the conversation away from only risk reduction creates potential: reducing damage caused by breach events and enabling cybersecurity policies to generate revenue. For instance, if you meet with investors, said investors trust secure companies, knowing their data is in secure hands. Strong cybersecurity postures also solidify client and customer trust, establishing brand strength. If you can answer questions about data governance, your BDR plans, and cybersecurity architecture, you appear as a stable, worthwhile investment. The ability to manage, mitigate, and handle cybersecurity threats speaks volumes to both the public and tech sectors.

It’s another prospect when you provide cybersecurity services as well. Versatile cloud services or backup services pay dividends, as they’re an essential resource for surviving today’s modern digital threatscape.

Roadblocks to better security

Damage caused by cybersecurity attacks such as ransomware is painful. In their entirety, cybersecurity breaches cost businesses billions. On average – since 2022 – the annual cost of a cyber breach in the United States is $9.4 million, enough to upend the average business. Therefore, you can understand the importance of preventing a breach event. Long-term consequences of cyberattacks undermine all functional aspects of an enterprise. Client trust is shaken, operations are stalled for long periods of downtime, and recovery can take weeks to even months. Meanwhile, staff and security experts must revitalize their network strategy to prevent further attacks. The time to remediate these digital pitfalls is not always clear, requiring intensive trial-and-error test phases to scrub off weak points causing the breach.

That’s to say nothing of burnout and stress concerns. When IT experts are hammered by endless problems – big and small – their capacity to “manage it all” fractures, leading to reduced performance and efficiency. Worse still, there’s a void in the availability of cybersecurity experts, an occupation unable to keep up with modern challenges. The nature of modern business models demands data adjacency, efficiency, and available tech, but said technology requires governing experts to keep it safe.

Meeting those challenges is important. Management and security leads must take a serious look at their prospects, using versatile technology, solutions, and onboarding processes to shore up staffing vacancies.

Why it pays to have good security

Long-term investments in staff, tech, and services seem overwhelming. SMBs with limited capital resources are, again, hesitant to adopt policies that cost large amounts of overhead and risk crippling their infrastructure. But, given the cost of no security or weak infrastructure, it pays in the end to have strong, resilient defenses. The MO “the best offense is a good defense” is no truer in cybersecurity.

Robust cybersecurity and IT architecture grant these benefits:

• You future-proof your enterprise against constantly evolving threats
• Improved client and investor relationships by promoting competent data governance
• Greatly mitigate and reduce damage caused by breaches, ransomware, failure, and disaster
• Reduce downtime and save on productivity
• Boost competency across all work sectors to help identify social media scams, phishing attempts, and malware attacks
• Regulatory and legislative compliance with new cybersecurity laws

 Think of it like saving hundreds of thousands in costs for the threat event that didn’t happen.

How do I get there?

Naturally, the conversation shifts to convincing management to adopt cybersecurity policies and infrastructure without sounding off financial concerns. Presenting data in a digestible, meaningful way makes all the difference, with emphasis on the damage caused by lackluster cybersecurity and IT architecture. Flexibility is key, and there are cost-friendly options for smaller businesses and organizations.

Cloud and virtual IT is a popular option. Scalability assures that infrastructure decisions are within budgetary abilities and that large-scale commitments are not immediately necessary. Better yet, cloud operations are versatile, and can better defend against ransomware attacks.

If you’re a provider, consider expanding coverage, options, and services for your client base. Can you establish data backup? Can you offer cloud services? What is your support range? You’re looking for characteristics granting you an edge over other competitors. Above all, the message should be clear: investing in security is a smart idea (because it is), and that in turn brings more clients and investment capital.

Third-Party Support

It goes without saying, but turning security into profit is no easy task. SMBs in particular must tread carefully. But, that does not mean it’s impossible, and smaller organizations can get third-party support from vendors and providers to broaden their security posture.

For more information, you can reach out to Bytagig today.