Making decisions about who to trust, and how much to spend for technology services has never been more confusing.
If you head up an I.T. department at your company, or you’re the office manager of a small business, one sad truth is the same – what you’re spending money on today is (or should be) VERY different from what it was even 2 years ago! We have great news for you – we just surveyed I.T. cyber security and support companies all across North America, and we are excited to share the results with you.
We look “behind the curtains” at what I.T. support and tool costs should be for small and large businesses! We broke down exactly what I.T. services and tools the top industry experts say you need, what companies and manufacturers are charging, and how much they should be costing you to implement in your business.
The world we currently live in is more dangerous than ever – and not just for your physical safety but also your online safety. With all of the massive hacks in the recent news, now is the time to ensure that your business is protected. Cybercrime never sleeps and neither should your IT security systems. Hackers are some of the most patient investigators, installing malware that might sit in your environment for months or even years before being detected.
How are they getting in so easily and unnoticed, you ask? Take the Colonial Pipeline Attack for example: On an unknown date, the password to a dormant, unprotected admin account was stolen and sold on the dark web. Between April 29 – May 6 attackers connect to their network via VPN with the stolen account information and steal 100+ gigabytes of data in just two hours. On May 7th @ 5 am a ransom note appears on the desktop of a computer within the organization and by 6:10 am Colonial Pipeline decides to shut down the entire pipeline. Colonial Pipeline ultimately pays a $4.4 million dollar ransom. Operations finally resume on May 12th, costing the company much more than $4.4 million in the long run. Your company’s in-house IT department may not have the time, extended knowledge, or resources to ensure that you are as protected as you need to be.
There are several service models for IT solutions that you should know about:
- In-House I.T. – often seen in organizations with a lot of employees and/or highly customized & complex internal systems.
- Time & Materials (aka “Break / Fix”) – best deal for the technician, as there’s no incentive for permanently fixing the problem
- Managed IT Services – The IT company assumes the responsibility for implementing your plan, resolving issues, delivering services
- Software vendor-supplied IT Services – great at supporting their one application, software vendors will provide limited support but rapidly punt to “Your IT Department.”
Everything you need to know about “What you should be paying for your IT services and support” can be found in our most recent webinar.
You can watch the webinar here! Be sure to contact us to get your Risk Assessment before it’s too late to save your business from cybercriminals.
Original Article from Stephanie Reilly @Turn Key Solutions, LLC
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