Off the shelf network security solutions are punted as plug-and-play silver bullets that seduce clients with the promise of easy installation, effortless application, and trouble-free ongoing maintenance.
“While automated updates may tick the right boxes in network managers’ minds, the reality of network security is more complex than the description that appears on the packaging,” says Martin Potgieter, Technical Director at Nclose.
“It’s not that security is easily compromised, but that the potential of these solutions remains unexplored. Incredibly sharp tools are often blunted by installations that apply broad principles to unique IT environments.” Your IT environments.
Organisations generally apply defensive network measures grudgingly; perceived as obligatory protection without tangible benefits, they often represent fiscal black holes.
“This opinion of network security solutions is completely understandable,” notes Stephen Osler, Business Development Director at Nclose. “But it is based on an incomplete grasp of the benefits that professionally installed and maintained security solutions offer.”
“The full potential of off-the-shelf solutions is rarely experienced because they are often applied by teams that aren’t aware of their abilities. Eye-watering IT staffing costs result in teams being thinly spread across several IT disciplines, denying security the focus it requires. And dedicated security services are often avoided because of the false perception that their costs are difficult to control and even harder to quantify.”
“The average SAP installation assigns up to 30% of the overall cost to services that optimise the product for the client’s requirements,” explains Martin. “The average cost of network security services, in contrast, is about 10% of the solution’s price tag.”
For this notably smaller percentage, network security services push off-the-shelf solutions way beyond their basic functions. Even minor optimisation turns boxed solutions from simple firewalls into cost management tools; allowing businesses to actively shape the purpose and deployment of their networks.
Security services turn business owners from fateful passengers into drivers that coax the very best out of their systems. Coupled with the never-ending quest for cost savings, the relentless increase in complexity of network threats means that dedicated security services are undoubtedly as important as the solutions themselves.