How Cybersecurity Staff Shortages Impact Your Business
Cybersecurity staff shortages have been increasing lately, and that could mean trouble for your business. While many industries are feeling the effects of the Great Resignation, cybersecurity hiring is different.
The demand for cybersecurity professionals has been rising for years or even decades. But with the COVID era push to digitize products, services, processes, and even full businesses, there are now even more jobs to fill.
Let’s discuss how cybersecurity staff shortages are impacting your business.
Cyber Threats Are Growing
As often happens when the demand for any professional skillset increases, the latest cybersecurity staff shortages are due, in part, to the huge increases in cyber threats for businesses of all sizes since the pandemic began.
According to Forbes, we saw 50% more cyber attacks per week on corporate networks compared to 2020. And the United States continues to be the most targeted country in the world, with 46% of global cyberattacks directed toward Americans and American companies.
As these attacks increase, so does your IT department’s workload.
Why are People Leaving Their Cybersecurity & IT Jobs?
And that increase in y our IT department’s workload is causing problems when it comes to retention and recruitment. If your business is understaffed, and the market favors employees right now, your current IT team is likely under high stress and facing high workload volumes. As these issues compound, more and more people in IT reconsider their positions.
And when those current employees leave, you are now looking at having to hire even more new staff to make up for those losses as well as past resignations.
This is a difficult time to be an employer or manager. These issues don’t seem to be going away any time soon, and the stress you’ll put on your management and executive teams increases as retention rates fall at your business.
Cybersecurity Staff Shortages Slow Company Growth
If you are constantly battling IT threats on top of having to replenish your IT staff, that means you and your executive teams have less time to focus on company growth.
2021 was a year of revitalization for a lot of industries, but you can’t capitalize on that momentum if your management teams are spending the bulk of their time interviewing and hiring potential employees.
Cyber threats don’t slow down, either. While you are understaffed, your company is at risk of attack, and you don’t have enough resources (both in personnel and technology) to combat these threats.
On average, a relatively small cyberattack often carries a cost greater than $100,000. And whether your business is bringing in $1 million in profits each year or you are running a multi-billion-dollar corporation, that cost carries with it the potential to increase if you are attacked again, or if those same attackers find other ways to circumvent your cybersecurity measures.
Outsourcing your cybersecurity programs can help mitigate these issues and keep your company’s growth on track.
Benefits of Outsourcing Cybersecurity
There are several benefits to outsourcing, especially when it comes to IT and cybersecurity.
Your operating costs on this front will be lower, and the outsourcing costs will be fixed or nearly fixed, leading to a more stable situation from a budgetary standpoint.
You’ll have 24/7 coverage, as well as greater reliability and sustainability. Most small and medium-sized businesses would be temporarily crippled if one or two key IT team members leave, but a managed services provider like Verve IT has a dedicated team of experts at hand, and we are more than equipped to handle retention in a way that will not impact your business operations or protection.
Another benefit is the depth and breadth of experience our Verve experts have. We have pulled together IT and cybersecurity professionals who have vast experience with multiple companies and industries, giving them a unique perspective when it comes to protecting your business.
Managed IT Is a Perfect Solution to Cybersecurity Staff Shortages
There are several great benefits to managed IT even when there aren’t any labor or supply shortages affecting millions of businesses across the country.
First, from an IT standpoint, Verve offers you a dedicated team of people committed to providing top-notch service and security solutions. These managed services include backup and disaster recovery, strategic planning, device monitoring and management, server replacement, network management and upgrades, managed cloud services, and much more. We can do everything an in-house team would, but you don’t have to worry about the management and staffing aspects.
On that note, outsourcing your IT department in a time with cybersecurity staffing shortages not only saves you time and money, it reduces stress for you and your employees. You don’t have to manage, train, or pay for full-time staff at your own business risk. You can come to us and receive a full IT department for a fraction of the cost it takes to build and manage an in-house team.
If you need IT support or are tired of trying to hire and retain IT talent, give us a call at Verve IT today.
