Is it Time to Reconsider Your IT Service Provider in Atlanta? 

Is it Time to Reconsider Your IT Service Provider in Atlanta? 

If your Atlanta IT support provider isn’t providing the strategic vision that you need, it may be time to shop around. If your IT consulting firm hasn’t kept up with security measures required to protect your data from today’s sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals, it may be time to consider a new vendor. If you aren’t getting the support you need from your on-premise IT consulting team, it’s time to let 360 Smart Networks make your life a little easier.

These top trends in IT show the importance of having an MSP that advocates for your Atlanta business and ensures there’s a plan in place to protect your data and keep your system running efficiently.

What’s a Risk Appetite Statement and Why Do You Need One?

Risk appetite statements document how business goals are linked to risk treatment plans. A risk appetite statement compares what the business decision-makers have said they are comfortable with to the risk of a certain course of action from an IT perspective. Your MSP should not take undue risks without clearing it with relevant stakeholders in the business.

What’s the Advantage of Hiring an MSP to Act as a Security Operations Center?

SOCs were once a “thing” in IT and were designed as a central point for threat assessments and operating efficiencies. With the growing complexity of systems and increasing cybersecurity threats, many companies are rebuilding SOCs or outsourcing this function to trusted managed service providers. 360 Smart Networks acts as a Security Operations Center for clients who want up-to-date security tools that generate alerts and reports for suspicious network activity.

Organizations need tools that focus on both response and detection as opposed to prevention. A centralize SOC provides better coverage and economies of scale compared with decentralized security functions. If your current MSP isn’t performing this function, it may be time to switch.

Does Your Company Prioritize Data Security Investments?

Effective data security requires a robust data security governance framework. This gives your company a blueprint of structured and unstructured datasets and defines the data security policies pertaining to each. This framework informs conversations about where you should be investing your technology budget — with well-structured, highly secure datasets getting prioritized above riskier applications.

What Are the Current Trends With “Passwordless” Authentication?

Using hardware authentication and biometrics is the most secure way to control access to company devices and data. It’s not very popular with some businesses for a number of reasons. Users find these technologies invasive and inconvenient and it’s expensive to implement them.

Nonetheless, emerging passwordless standards are gaining traction due to new devices that are user-friendly and easily accessible in the market. Biometrics and e hardware tokens are much more secure than the traditional password login, which can be intercepted easily by savvy hackers. Your MSP should be familiar with this technology and ready to discuss the viability of adopting them for remote workers and contractors at a minimum.

Is Your MSP up to Speed on the Maturation of Cloud Security?

As the cloud becomes the leading platform for computing, you need an MSP that can implement the most advanced cloud security options. Security is still one of the top concerns of businesses that haven’t migrated to the cloud. That’s why it’s crucial that you partner with a technology provider that understands the latest advances and can explain them clearly. Tools like cloud access security brokers (CASBs) or cloud workload protection platforms (CSPM) offer security capabilities that protect your digital assets in cyberspace.

What Is the CARTA Approach to Security?

Continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment (CARTA) acknowledges that security must be adaptive and pervasive. Both LAN network and email security have begun adopting CARTA as a guiding principle in their detection and response efforts.

360 Network Smart Networks aims to provide the latest security methodology and tools to its clients. Contact us to discuss where your Atlanta business is at today and where it needs to be to remain secure and competitive in the future. Let us help you say goodbye to an ineffective MSP.