Are You Budgeting Enough for Security?

As security costs increase and cyberattacks become more prevalent, many companies wonder if they are budgeting enough for security. Since every organization has different requirements, it may not make sense for your business to compare your budget to another company’s. Instead, consider the various factors that drive security spending and choose the areas most beneficial for your operations.

Factors to Consider with Security Budget Planning

IT components are implemented based on the strengths and weaknesses of your infrastructure. To maximize your IT budget, tailor your security spending to the areas that would benefit from it the most. An audit can help you find these underserved areas.

Invest your security budget in the most impactful areas of your company’s specific needs. Security investments are practical and can be justified if risks are managed. Investing in areas such as regulatory compliance and risk mitigation can improve your productivity and efficiency while enhancing your security.

Security areas to invest in include:

• Phishing and cybersecurity training: Cyberattacks are constantly evolving to develop new ways to gain access to your network. Training is essential to help employees understand these threats and how to mitigate them.
• Business continuity: Your company should have a contingency plan for various scenarios related to your IT system. These plans allow business to carry on as usual, so downtime doesn’t become a serious issue.
• Cybersecurity insurance: Consider investing in cybersecurity insurance to protect your company against cyber threats and data loss.

Ways to Fund Your IT Budget

Many companies cut expenses in other areas or reallocate their budget to cover security expenses. The following are some ways to find the budget you need to pay for security measures:

• Improve operational efficiency: As your company becomes more efficient, you can direct spending from productive areas to your IT budget. As a result, you can stay vigilant about emerging threats while keeping your security spend more or less the same.
• Reduce technology: Many businesses have old or redundant technology they no longer need. Review your technology infrastructure and part with what your operations don’t require anymore. This measure saves money by eliminating spending on unnecessary hardware and software subscriptions.
• Evaluate suppliers and partners: Your business should partner with suppliers that offer the best deal for their services. End your partnership if their services aren’t valuable to your daily operations or are costly.
• Cut nonessential spending: Are all of your company’s expenses necessary right now? Eliminate the spending that is not urgent and direct these funds to your security protocols.

Protect Your Network with Agio

Agio offers many IT services, including system monitoring to monitor your on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments and eliminate issues before they become security threats. Contact us to learn more.