When it comes to keeping data safe, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can’t “do it all.”
Their IT departments are already short-staffed and hard-pressed. According to a recent Sophos report analyzing the problem, SMBs perceive a lack of in-house expertise as their second biggest single cybersecurity risk.
SMBs have much to protect. Total IT spending in this sector will reach $90 billion in 2024, up 9.4 percent from last year. Much of that will be focused on cybersecurity, with Managed Detection and Response (MDR) seeing the most rapid growth. Do not be surprised to see SMB spending on cybersecurity increase by 15 percent or more in 2024.
This will happen despite the significant shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals available to fill the growing demand for security roles in organizations. Fortunately, Sophos partners are well-placed to provide the cybersecurity specialists and tools needed to become IT protectors for hire.
Mind the Gap
Cybersecurity requires highly trained specialists. At the SMB level, however, IT people must be generalists, and there aren't enough to spare for specialist training in cybersecurity.
Even if you could find enough specialists, it would take 4-5 of them to operate a security desk 24/7. Hence, it is no surprise that threat actors like attacking SMBs outside regular business hours. SMBs admit that there is no one on duty to monitor alerts for one-third of the time. What few people there are assigned to cybersecurity are overworked and burnt out—something 85 percent of SMBs suffer. Simply hiring more people to plug the holes is not a realistic option.
Channeling IT Security
SMBs cannot justify an IT security solution that fits a Fortune 500 company. But they do need a solution tailored to their size and needs. Here is where the Sophos partner has an opportunity.
First, product: Sophos MDR. It provides 24/7 coverage, backed by Sophos’ own security experts and database of all previous cyberattacks. Sophos MDR will identify and contain any cyberattack, while Sophos experts eradicate the intrusion and remediate the customer’s system.
Second: partners. Sophos has a network of MSPs who provide products and services tailored to meet the security needs of SMBs. It can start with MDR, but Sophos MSPs can also add Sophos Firewall, Sophos Endpoint, Account Health Check, and Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA).
SMBs can turn to Sophos MSPs to gain experience in cyber defense, using Sophos products specially crafted for small businesses. Download a free copy of the “Addressing the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage in SMBs” report.