Why Mid-Market Companies Should Outsource their Cybersecurity to a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)

Here are a couple of alarming statistics about cybersecurity that might shock you: 43% of cyberattacks are aimed at small to medium sized businesses (SMBs), but only 14% are well-prepared to defend themselves. It’s no wonder that SMBs spend up to 20% of their total IT budget on security, not to mention the time and resources ensuring protection takes away from other business-critical IT initiatives and activities.

And with cybersecurity threats continuing to increase, mid-market organizations often struggle to strike a balance between adequate protection and available spend, which leaves them vulnerable to risk. These companies often lack the resources and expertise to fully protect their organizations from cyber threats.

Enter Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) – companies that provide managed cybersecurity services to businesses. Outsourcing cybersecurity to an MSSP can help mid-market companies address the challenges of cybersecurity and protect their valuable assets.

6 Benefits of Hiring and MSSP

MSSPs offer services like monitoring and managing firewalls and intrusion detection systems, overseeing patch management and upgrades, performing security assessments and audits, and responding to emergencies. Not only do MSSPs ensure that an organization's security software is up to date, they offload the burden from in-house IT and security teams and can jump into action in the case of a cyber security incident.  

For SMBs, hiring an MSSP provides numerous important benefits:   

1. Access to Expertise: MSSPs employ highly skilled cybersecurity professionals who are knowledgeable in a wide range of technologies. By outsourcing your cybersecurity to an MSSP, you can have immediate access to specialized expertise and advanced technologies that might be too costly or complex to develop in-house. Outsourcing to dedicated security firms allows these companies to benefit from top-tier security knowledge, technologies and resources, without having to make a significant investment in training and development. 
2. Cost Savings: One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing cybersecurity to an MSSP is the potential for cost savings. MSSPs have economies of scale that allow them to provide cybersecurity services at a lower cost than in-house IT departments. Outsourcing can be more affordable than building, training and maintaining a full-fledged internal security team, especially for mid-sized businesses with limited budgets.

3. Improved Cybersecurity Posture: MSSPs provide a wide range of cybersecurity services, from network security and data backup to threat intelligence and incident response. By leveraging  the wide range of services offered, it’s much easier and more efficient to strengthen your overall cybersecurity posture. Outsourcing security services provides scalability, enabling mid-market companies to adjust their security needs in response to its growth and changing risk profiles.
4. Proactive Threat Detection and Response: MSSPs use advanced tools and technologies to monitor your IT systems 24/7, so they’re able to identify potential threats before they become critical. In this way, they have the upper hand and can either prevent an attack from happening or, if there is a successful breach, respond quickly to mitigate its impact.

5. Regulatory Compliance: Many mid-market companies are subject to various regulations and standards that require them to maintain a certain level of cybersecurity. MSSPs can help you meet these requirements and provide the documentation and reporting necessary to demonstrate compliance.

Of course, choosing the right MSSP is an important step toward reaping these benefits. Let’s examine how BDO Digital’s MSSP offering is a safe bet. 

Proactive, Managed Cyber Protection with BDO Digital

BDO Digital's MSSP service is a fully managed offering that uses a predefined Microsoft-based solution stack, leveraging Azure Sentinel to prevent, detect and respond to threats across our customers’ identities, endpoints applications, email, IoT infrastructures, and on-premise and cloud ecosystems.  

Our global cyber security leadership group offers several proprietary models to help you develop a resilient security posture, from establishing compliance and building a proactive approach to effective security risk management. By enlisting BDO Digital’s MSSP services, your team is free to focus on more value-added initiatives and activities, instead of spending time managing, tweaking or upgrading cyber tooling. On average, customers save about 56% of current spend by enlisting our MSSP services, while optimizing their security and licensing and identifying opportunities to optimize their infrastructure.  

Learn more about BDO Digital’s Managed Cybersecurity Solutions & Services.