What to Look for in a Cybersecurity Company
When starting to look for a cybersecurity company, you can get overwhelmed by choices from local to global options, not to mention sole proprietors and companies with thousands of staff. Choosing between them can be difficult, but these are some key points to look for that will help find the right provider for your business.
Plain Speaking
Cybersecurity can be a particularly bad industry for jargon and gobbledygook. You’ll see many providers who use highly technical language and acronyms, often to try to show off their expertise but sometimes to try to intimidate customers into feeling even more desperate for help.
Look instead for a provider who takes the time and trouble to explain their work in clear, everyday terms that you can understand. It’s not only a sign that they will likely be good to work with and care about their customers, but it also shows that they truly understand a subject enough to be able to explain it clearly.
Never be afraid to ask questions. For example, many cybersecurity companies will happily tell you about the qualifications and certifications their staff members have earned. Make sure they can talk you through what these qualifications actually involve and why they are relevant to your needs.
Clear Pricing
Cybersecurity companies use a range of pricing models from payment per incident to subscription costs based on how many employees or devices you have. Make sure you use a company with the right pricing set-up for your needs. A good company will be happy to explain what you get for your money and, just as importantly, what extra costs you might face for any other services.
Existing Customers
Look for a cybersecurity company that has existing customers of a similar size or nature to your business. A provider that’s used to dealing one-to-one with small business owners will have a very different approach to one that usually deals with giant corporations with multiple branches.
Some cybersecurity companies have particular experience dealing with growing companies where it’s important to effectively scale security measures or cope with spikes in activity. Other cybersecurity companies have specialist expertise in particular industries, such as complying with data protection laws in health or finance.
Forward Planning
The best cybersecurity companies don’t just fix your defenses now but prepare for problems. A good sign is a provider who offers disaster recovery planning. This goes beyond simply backing up files and instead involves planning for how to restore data and systems after different types of interruption.
Up To Date
Make sure you use a cybersecurity company that is on top of security developments. Attackers are constantly changing and refining their methods. Good cybersecurity practices need to keep pace. Ask a potential provider how they keep up to date with threats and how they use this information to reduce your risks from future attacks.
At CPI, we like to think we meet all of these criteria. Contact us today and we’ll talk through what you need from cybersecurity and how we can help.
