Given that most of the world has gone digital, you can only imagine the doors this has opened. Some of these are good whereas others are quite bad and harmful. Popular research shows that the cost of online security breaches and data theft ends up costing billions of dollars. So, what is the solution here? Whether you are looking into software for moving companies or medical facilities, you need to stay protected. To do this, the modern world has provided us with security software options. However, this is not your “run of the mill” company shopping. There are questions to ask and answers you need before buying security software.
Why the need for security software?
As mentioned earlier, the cost of data breach keeps growing and has come to staggering expenses for companies today. Hence, companies across the globe have started asking themselves what the best ways to protect their business from cyber-attacks are.
And among the more popular and logical answers was the notion of buying security software. But the real questions is which one to buy and how? This is something we hope to answer for you today.
What are the essential questions to ask before buying security software?
Every online business (even some offline ones) needs to be on the lookout for cybercriminals. Information has become the strongest currency today – and each of us has to protect their own. Otherwise, businesses can suffer:
- financial losses,
- reputational damage,
- operational interruption and so on.
One of the better ways to battle this modern-day disease is quality employee training and education. An untrained staff is the largest threat to any given company now. You have to gather a team of people that know the risks of data sharing and the proper ways to ensure the protection of information. However, this is but a single line of defense you have to implement.
Buying security software has become an essential component in the protection of online businesses. However, with its popularity also came many entrepreneurs with the desire to develop and sell it. So, how do you choose the right one? Here are three questions and answers that will help you accomplish just that:
1. Does the security software provide a layered approach to data protection?
To being with, what exactly is the meaning behind a “layered approach”? Basically, more efficient security software solutions will have a way to identify and escalate threats before they cause damage. So, what layered security does is analyze gaps in security from various perspectives, thus working towards closing them. Whether it’s a matter of password protection or anti-virus implementation, it offers you a combined and layered set of solutions.
For example, types of defensive layers that you get from buying security software for IT technology platforms will usually include:
- malware scanners,
- firewalls,
- intrusion detection systems and
- local storage encryption tools.
What is the conclusion to take from all this? If you want maximum protection and security, you need to be able to identify and tackle threats from a multi-layer perspective.
2. Is the security software a match for your particular system?
The cyber-threats that exist differ in many factors and elements. And so do the operational systems that companies use to conduct their business. Hence, before buying security software, you need to make sure that it’s a match for your computer networks. Otherwise, you just get a software that is expensive and potentially great, but useless for your industry.
So, call in your tech department and get familiar with your overall setup and the proposed security measures for it. Software installations, equipment, and network specifications – these are all different pieces of a puzzle within each company. You need to put those pieces together before you decide on a specific type of website security improvement.
Try Before You Buy
This is a very simple concept that we apply in our everyday lives. How many times did you have a need to test out something before buying it? Well, it’s the same when it comes to buying security software – you need to make sure that it can support the size and type of your network. And this is something that you can do with a trial version of the software. All you have to do is take the time to test it out and see which system fits your needs best.
3. What is the ability of the security software to cope with emerging threats?
Something that every business owner has to understand at all times is the constant rat race in the world of cyber security. As security software solutions evolve, cyber criminals find new ways to adapt and overcome certain obstacles. Hence, you need to stay up-to-date and make sure that the security software you purchase can do the same.
This is why you need to make sure that there is a support team good enough to offer you the edge you need to stay one step ahead of data breaches. So, before buying security software, research just how existing and good the customer support of that seller is. After all – no one really has a use for a security system that can only protect you from outdated threats.
What is the conclusion here?
You can save yourself a whole lot of grief in both time and money. All you have to do is ask the right questions, thus maximizing your chances of buying security software that suits you perfectly:
- Does the security software provide a layered approach to security?
- Is the security software a match for your particular system?
- What is the ability of the security software to cope with emerging threats?
So, make the time to conduct the extensive research noted above before investing into any software. The goal here is to have a system that can recognize that threats are multifaceted, and adequately protect a company through a combination of techniques. And this is what you need to find and buy.
