IT Security Consultancy vs Managed IT Security Service

Has your business considered outsourcing an IT security service? Maybe, until now, it’s been sufficient to only have a few employees manage your IT security needs. 

But usually, as businesses grow, the risk increases and the need to protect your expanding network and IT infrastructure becomes paramount. 

One of the key considerations for your company’s IT security is whether to handle it in-house or outsource it to a managed service. Which one is right for your business?  

First, let’s look at the difference between the two. Each has its benefits – and AirIT is ideally equipped to assist you on a consultative level or become your trusted partner to deliver a managed IT security service. 

Cyber Security within your Organisation

Every organisation needs to safeguard its data, websites, and web applications from attackers – cyber-criminals whose goal is to disrupt, corrupt, delay, alter, or redirect the flow of data. These criminals vary in their ability to attack data. The more sophisticated of the bunch are creative – forever innovating with new ways to infiltrate their targets’ sensitive IT infrastructure. 

To keep up, your organisation needs to be ever-more alert to cyber-security threats and dangers. You need to be meticulous in keeping your data safe from attack. Your AirIT consulting team is here to support your organisation with your security operations, including your risk, remediation, and compliance strategies.

What are Consultancy or Professional IT Security Services?

These are more of an on-demand solution than the ‘managed’ equivalent. You might employ IT security professionals for one-off projects, such as expansions or new hardware rollouts. The consultants might be involved from the start of a project to the finish or in just a part of the project, providing advice, support and consultancy on your agreed strategy. You might bring them into work on any combination of the planning, design, installation or training elements of a security project. Once the work is complete, some consultants might provide ongoing support, such as maintenance or troubleshooting.

What to expect from IT Security Consultancy?

There are three reasons to consider adopting the IT Security Consultancy option.

IT security assessment and planning – As the IT security landscape changes, you will need to constantly review and analyse new threats and risks. Specifically, your IT security consultants will assess.

  • your organisation’s ability to detect and respond to cyberattacks
  • your physical security architecture and its vulnerability to attack
  • your overall IT security strategy
  • the best security solution to help you to achieve your business goals

An extension of your organisation’s in-house security team – Your security team will inevitably be busy with many other projects and initiatives. A security consulting firm will act as an extension of your in-house team – tackling evolving threats and risks while your own team focuses on other areas.

Looking after compliance and regulatory matters – IT security consulting services will keep your company up-to-date on the latest compliance and regulatory requirements as they evolve. An IT security consultant will help you navigate the detailed requirements needed to stay IT compliant.

What to expect from IT Managed Security Services

The provider you chose to manage your organisation’s cybersecurity can be responsible for the implementation of your entire security strategy, or they can provide a singular service that fills a gap where your business may lack the resources or capacity to oversee the associated tasks in-house. The IT Managed Security Service provider will also offer consultancy as a key part of structuring and implementing your security plan.

Managed IT Security Services could comprise the following elements:

  • Day-to-day maintenance & troubleshooting
  • Network monitoring
  • Endpoint Device Management or Co-Management
  • On-site cybersecurity team for staff augmentation
  • On-site additions to your in-house cybersecurity team
  • Network threat and detection and alerts
  • Firewall monitoring, management, and support
  • Email & Web Filtering
  • Next-generation Anti-virus
  • Multi-factor Authentication
  • Device encryption

The principal benefits of Managed IT Security Services are that you gain:

  • A preventative approach – resolving issues before they arise
  • 24/7 ongoing support
  • Easy to budget for with a monthly plan
  • Scalability – whatever the size of your business, a managed IT security service will always grow and adapt as you evolve
  • Speed and efficiency – IT support professionals manage all support requests quickly and efficiently. This could be via email, online portal, telephone or web-chat. Most problems can be resolved within the first contact, causing minimal disruption to your business.
  • Immediate access to additional support and service offering as the need arises or budget allows

IT Security Consultancy or Managed IT Security Service – which is to be?

The answer, albeit slightly ambiguous, is that the type of service your business requires depends very much on your goals and requirements, as well as the breadth and scope of IT security tasks that your in-house staff are able to undertake and perform well. 

An IT consultancy can design the best plan for your organisation, suggest all the right tools, and show you how to ensure your business stays cyber-secure. But without the resources required to execute and maintain this plan, you risk exposing your business to vulnerabilities. 

The important thing to acknowledge is that IT security is closely related to the rest of your IT  infrastructure – if this is set up, maintained, monitored and updated proactively, you’re already covering many of the bases that leave your business exposed. 

For many organisations, it makes sense to outsource their IT management to an expert company that will oversee everything from end to end –– from the setup and integration of new software, hardware and processes, to the security elements that ensure your company remains protected from cyber attacks. 

AirIT’s approach to IT security, consultancy and managed services

AirIT offers you a range of IT Consultancy services, such as technical design, solutions architecture, due diligence, compliance and documentation. We offer these under a number of different ‘roles’. These include project managers, technical consultants, senior technical consultants and solutions/pre-sales consultants. Most importantly, our consultancy service includes security, so you can rest assured that all the advice and direction we provide is with your organisation’s safety in mind. 

When compared to what many managed IT, service providers, on the market offer, AirIT’s solution takes things to the next level. Our approach is comprehensive, proactive and continuous.  

With us, you’ll have an expert on hand to support you on everything related to your IT and cybersecurity architecture –– 24/7. You can also add services from the AirIT Guardian portfolio to your service package, ensuring that you’re continuously defended against:

  • Phishing attacks
  • Data breaches
  • Ransomware
  • Brute Force
  • DDoS
  • Resource Misuse

Whichever route you choose to adopt, your first step should be to download our Cyber Security Risk Calculator. The results in the calculator will uncover any existing vulnerabilities, helping you to gauge where your business requires the most support. 

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