How to Get the Most Out of Your Security Budget

Running a business isn’t cheap, which results in budgets becoming strained under their operational needs. A major contributor to this strain is often the security-focused line items. However, there are a few means and methods to getting the most out of your security budget.

1: Internships
Internships are an excellent opportunity to boost your IT security staff for a time, especially if you’re looking to add a few well-trained hires in the near future. Cooperating with nearby universities and colleges, and their computer science faculty members, can help you bring in talent that you can direct toward your security for a lower cost than a fresh new hire. Work with your Human Resources department to sort out the logistics, and you may find yourself with an effective security staff with customized training before very long; and, after you have seen that they are worth their salaries through the course of the program.

2: Internal Training
When it comes to maintaining your security, your employees are the ones who are in the trenches. They have to be able to identify potential threats and mitigate them effectively, or your business will left vulnerable. To accomplish this, your staff needs to be trained to understand and lean on the industry’s best practices as they go about their days.

Fortunately, there are plenty of resources available online that your staff can read (and watch) for little to no cost. There is plenty that can be learned from reading articles posted on websites, including this one. Encouraging your workforce to read materials like these can give them a basic understanding of what they need to do to keep the business safe. Of course, you can also hold training sessions for employees to practice what they would do, given a hypothetical scenario.

3: Free Tools (But with Caveats)
There are plenty of free resources out there to help you with your security. The biggest one: Google. Possibly the most important part of keeping your company secure is to understand what threats are out there and how they could negatively affect your company’s network security. Keeping up-to-date and informed will help you to make the adjustments to your security plans that you’ll need.

There are also plenty of free security tools available for download, but you should always have an IT professional check them out first, and ideally, implement them for you. Otherwise, you run the risk of willingly (if unknowingly) introducing malware into your network.

4: Automation
Automation has made great strides in recent years, which makes it an even better tool for businesses to leverage. However, it is not something that should be seen as a replacement for your existing security staff. Rather, they should work in tandem. With the rote, run-of-the-mill issues being handled by preconfigured processes, your employees can divert their attention to bigger matters that demand more focus.

5: Outsourcing
This is another excellent way to bring some extra value in for fewer costs, as outsourcing provides you with additional experts at your disposal for a predictable cost. By having your outsourced resources handle the lion’s share of your security needs, your in-house employees can focus on other critical matters, much as they could with automated solutions. It’s no surprise, then, to find out that many outsourced IT providers expertly utilize automation.

Horne & Benik can help you with any of these strategies. Call us at (603) 499-4400 for more information.