Modern companies rely greatly on the functionality of IT, from staff to hardware to software. It’s important to budget these factors, as the costs can escalate quickly when not accounted for properly, especially in security. As a result, a business should develop a security budget to account for its needs, making sure it can afford the services it needs.
How do you do this? Fortunately, the process is relatively simple. There are a few core aspects to an IT security plan. This article will give you a brief starting guide to help you along the way.
Determine which services you need
IT security covers a lot of areas, including physical premises monitoring, remote location encryption, “DMZ” neutral zones, network security, anti-virus, and so on. But some are more general than others, and some many not specifically address the security needs of your company.
Take some time then to gauge the areas you want to focus on. If you use a BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”) solution, for instance, you likely want to focus on an IT budget that includes security features for device safety.
Take stock of current resources
Once you get an idea of needs, take a look at current resources, from financial to physical. For example, if you’re planning to outsource monitored security to a managed service provider, you need to make sure there’s enough capital to cover the expense. There are also things like current staff, potential new hires, server space, maintenance, software, hardware upgrades, and more to consider for the budget.
By seeing what resources are available, you can properly gauge what’s possible, what might require cuts, and what will put you in the red.
Seek out new talent
It’s a misconception that software or hardware is the key to a perfect IT security system. The reality is that experts and staff really make things flow.
Without the right expertise, the most expensive resources become rather useless. Therefore, during your budget phase and planning for the future, invest in skilled and knowledgeable staff members.
Test security measures
As you begin finding appropriate IT security solutions, thorough testing is critical. When it comes to net safety, never have the philosophy of “set it and forget it.”
Testing the network and IT staff against a plethora of security criteria will expose the weaknesses of your infrastructure as well as its strengths. This will help generate an effective roadmap for better security investments in the future.
Communicate extensively
Developing the budget framework is a process that requires input from various sources, from management to IT teams. Along with all the potential new investments needed, communication is critical to making sure there are no blips when developing both solution and budget requirements.
Whether it’s a team or single expert, keep all important parties in the loop. This will assuredly create the most effective potential budget.
With these steps in mind, you have all the basics for working on a successful IT budget. Keep the core ideas close and you’ll create an effective IT security plan that doesn’t wander into the red.
