As a security service provider, it is essential to have the most effective tools and platform available in order to keep your business running efficiently and securely. Cloud platforms are becoming an increasingly popular choice among organizations due to their flexibility, cost-effectiveness and scalability.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the strategic advantages that cloud platforms can provide for security service providers so they can continue providing best-in-class protection for clients. Cloud platforms are revolutionizing the way security service providers meet the needs of clients.
Scaling Cloud Platforms: Efficiency at Every Stage of Growth
Cloud platforms help achieve maximum efficiency at every stage of the growth journey. The modular services offered by providers ensure you only pay for what you need and can be scaled as your company grows.
You can add extra storage and functionality when required and scale back if short-term demand falls. It’s the kind of flexibility organizations crave–the ability to react to changes in the market swiftly while keeping your business on target for longer-term objectives.
A key part of growth is managing operational costs. Cloud platform infrastructures offer operational costs that are 31% lower than on-site infrastructures. This savings, coupled with the ability to scale, can provide the stability you need for success.
How To Communicate This to Your Team
Make sure your team members are aware of fluctuations in demand, whether seasonal or related to peaks and dips in the sales cycle. Be sure to emphasize the ways in which scalability benefits everyone—your team and your customers. Focus on value and what the end-user can achieveusing a cloud platform.
RELATED : How the Cloud Can Enhance Your Alarm Monitoring Business
Cloud Platform-Specific Security Features
Cloud-based computing and storage platforms offer multiple advantages, from lower operating costs to better compatibility with digital enterprises. Security service providers can enhance their offerings with the foundation of a solid cloud platform. Knowing and communicating your security features will set you apart and bring value to the services you provide.
Advanced Perimeter Firewall
Many firewalls are simple because their job is only to inspect the source and destination packets. However, there are some more advanced firewalls available that perform stable packet inspection. These firewalls automatically check the file packets’ integrity to ensure stability before approving or rejecting the packet.
The best firewalls will assess the data stored in the file packet to examine the file type, source, destination and integrity. This detail is critical to prevent the most advanced persistent threats.
Internal Firewalls for Applications & Databases
A secure perimeter firewall only blocks external cyber-attacks. Internal attacks are still a viable and ever-present danger. If there are no internal firewalls in infrastructures to restrict sensitive data, then the system is insecure.
For example, an employee account can give hackers access to bypass the perimeter firewall altogether. Using an internal firewall will help prevent these bypass attacks in the future.
Intrusion Detection Systems with Event Logging
Your security compliance standards should include a way to track and record all types of intrusion attempts. Intrusion detection systems with event logging solutions are necessary to ensure you meet compliance standards like Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA).
Some cloud services offer IDS monitoring services and update the security rules for their firewalls to counter the latest threat signals and malicious IP addresses.
Reduce Reliance on Hardware
Relying solely on hardware for your security services can result in unfortunate downtime. For a security service provider, downtime can be catastrophic, possibly resulting in steep regulatory fines, lost business continuity and damaged reputation.
Using cloud platforms reduces your reliance on hardware. They deliver updates to in-the-field installations automatically without the need for individual downloads. By eliminating the need for every device to download the hardware and software required to access specific information, every device is relieved of the cost and burden of storing all that information — optimizing the efficiency of devices across the enterprise.
RELATED: 6 Strategies for Handling Downtime in an Alarm Monitoring Center
Provide Disaster Recovery Through Cloud Platforms
A secure cloud platform is a critical component of business continuity and disaster planning, including recovering from data breaches and ransomware. Creating a security strategy should include backup procedures, forensic discovery, data recovery and guidelines for implementation, testing and maintenance.
As a security services provider, a cloud platform can help solidify website availability and data protection to your clients. Provide disaster recovery by regularly backing up operating systems, data, files, applications and configurations. The cloud handles many of these critical procedures automatically.
Your clients benefit from guaranteed uptime, which delivers substantial business value and peace of mind. Security services providers should also have their own disaster recovery plan, meaning you can maintain services in the event of a catastrophic event as per your service agreements.
Final Thoughts
Harnessing the power of cloud platforms can excel your security business and add value to your services. Being tuned into the security your clients need, and encompassed in a flexible and efficient solution, will set you apart from the competition.
KEEP READING: Reduce Your Costs to Increase Your Profits