McAfee Security Insights

Security as a Service

No one is immune to cyber-risk. With the onslaught of Internet-borne threats facing businesses today, it doesn’t matter whether you’re running a multinational corporation or a small family business. You have to protect your information assets or you could be in big trouble.

The problem for small and medium businesses (SMBs) is that they rarely have enough full-time IT staff to effectively manage all the security measures necessary to fully protect their computers and their data. Small businesses–typically with 100 or fewer employees–often don’t have a dedicated IT person at all. Even in larger businesses, IT people wear multiple hats, which means that critical security tasks get done only at the expense of other equally important business computing needs.

Fortunately, a new class of security solutions is emerging to address this dilemma: security delivered as a managed service.

Offloading Headaches

The concept behind security as a service is simple. Rather than acquiring your own security software tools and the technical expertise to administer them internally, you contract with security vendors to have a turnkey service of virus defense, firewall management and e-mail filtering. Outsourcing cyber-security eliminates all the labor and infrastructure, while still giving you the state of the art in anti-virus, firewall and spam-fighting technologies.

This approach also relieves SMB IT staffers from having to become security experts as well.

"Lots of people go to an accountant or a tax preparation service, because they don’t have the time or the expertise to do their taxes themselves," explains Lillian Wai, Senior Product Marketing Manager for McAfee® Managed Services. "Managed security services simply apply this same reasoning to computer security–allowing SMBs to turn the job over to professionals who have the tools and expertise necessary to do the job better and more economically."

While managed services eliminate the need for SMBs to perform routine daily security tasks, they still give IT managers a clear view into security operations and system status. A variety of reports show SMB IT managers know what’s been done, what threats have been intercepted, and which problems may require further attention. Businesses don’t have to sacrifice control, even as they gain convenience.

Simplicity and Safety

Jon Law is a managed services convert. He is the network administrator at Albina Fuel, a family-owned business that sells fuels, lubricants, and asphalt products in Portland, Oregon. Like many of his peers, Jon has his hands full keeping his company’s critical IT systems up and running smoothly. He is also trying to devote more of his time and energy to projects that have strategic value to Albina. So the last thing he needs to do is go from desktop to desktop, updating anti-virus signatures and scanning hard drives.

That’s why he has become a customer of the McAfee® Managed VirusScan® anti-virus service.

"My day is too busy to devote a lot of time to desktop housekeeping tasks, but I obviously can’t allow any of our systems to become vulnerable," Jon says. "By letting McAfee handle the whole job for me, all I have to do is check the reports and address any issues that require my attention."

One thing Jon looks for is irregular activity on any individual machine. With the McAfee reports, he quickly sees which users’ desktops are picking up the most virus, adware or spyware hits and he can take a closer look at what’s happening.

"The reports I get from McAfee show me who is picking up the most infections, so I can talk to them about taking the precautions necessary to protect themselves and the company."

The Big Picture

Jon Law isn’t alone. The Yankee Group projected that managed security services market would grow from $1.5 billion in 2002 to a projected $3.7 billion market in 2008. As the challenges faced by IT departments continue to expand faster than their HR budgets, turning to a managed service is more than wise move─ it becomes a necessity.

This is reflected in a broader trend towards software-as-a-service or on-demand solutions. Companies around the world are turning to service providers to deliver everything from network management to core customer relationship management applications. Security is thus just one of many IT disciplines being outsourced so that internal IT staffs can focus on objectives that increase business value, such as software innovation and strategic planning.

"When you only have a limited number of technology professionals on staff, you don’t want them downloading updates," says McAfee’s Wai. "With a trusted partner like McAfee, your staff can concentrate on adding value rather than doing routine tasks."

Wai emphasizes that, in addition to being more cost-effective, managed services can also be much safer. "If you depend on an overworked administrator to keep your anti-virus and anti-spam software up to date, there’s a chance it might not get done─ with potentially disastrous results. Our managed services eliminate that risk and therefore improve the level of protection and productivity for your company."

Since this article was written, McAfee has introduced new products that offer similar capabilities. Please see our products section for additional information.

Resources

Read the McAfee white paper, Effective Management of Anti-Virus and Security Solutions for Smaller Businesses.