Cloud-Based Security: How small-to-mid-sized companies should tackle network security.

Posted by Geraldine Hunt on Thu, Feb 25th, 2016

Unfortunately for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), most software vendors assume that a security solution that works for large enterprises is good enough for smaller businesses too. They aren’t creating solutions for companies that don’t have a large IT staff, and the products they provide may actually increase risks in some cases.

The needs of SMBs are really quite different than the needs of large enterprises. We’ll look at some of the reasons enterprise security products don’t work for SMBs, and then discuss what works: cloud-based security.

The problems with complexity

Too many security solutions are designed to be really useful only to a business with large in-house security team or at least a well-staffed IT department; they’re simply too complex to be readily configured by an IT generalist. If these security products are managed by the business owner for example the business may find itself more vulnerable instead of less.

An awkward conglomeration of technologies

Why are these solutions so complex? Part of the reason is the history of the largest vendors. As they’ve grown they’ve acquired many smaller companies and assimilated their acquisitions into their solution. The result is sometimes an awkward conglomeration of technologies full of coordination and configuration headaches.

The largest vendors have also built their products to serve the needs of large enterprises, and large enterprises sometimes actually prefer a degree of complexity. They have the staff numbers and expertise to configure even the most convoluted environment, and they often have a need for granular control of the security domain. For SMBs, all this complexity is simply overload.

It’s also expensive to develop a product specifically for the needs of SMBs. It’s cheaper and easier for vendors to repackage their existing products than to create a product to meet the specific needs of SMBs.

It’s unfortunate, because SMBs certainly need good security. They’re a favorite target for cybercriminals, in part because they’re less likely to have a good security solution in place. The number of SMBs is huge, so they also represent a large target.

Complexity comes with a cost

What are the potential pitfalls of an SMB using an enterprise-level security solution? There are several.

• All too often, some functionality is turned off because the configuration job is just too formidable. In fact, most businesses may give up; only 10% use all the components they pay for.
• If a solution isn’t configured properly, it can cause problems. It can be configured too loosely and leave the system vulnerable to cybercriminals, or it can be configured too tightly, producing false positives, locking out legitimate users, and causing a drop in productivity.
• Misconfiguration of a complex security solution could potentially slow down or even halt network traffic.
• Maintenance contracts and additional services can be very expensive.
• The person responsible for the security solution must be trained. Often training is expensive and also takes the employee away from the office

It doesn’t have to be like this. A security product can be user friendly. Functionality built into the product can replace the complexity of the enterprise-class solution.

Cloud solutions offer a simple & immediate solution

A cloud-based security-as-a-service provides everything an SMB needs in a security solution; it reduces complexity and provides superb security in a user-friendly product. It’s a solution that’s easy to install, easy to configure, and easy to manage. Its simplicity doesn’t mean it’s weak; a cloud-based security-as-a-service solution can provide automatic protection from most threats.

Complexity hidden without compromising functionality.  

The challenge for SMBs is finding the right balance. WebTitan Cloud is an ideal security solution for any organization, especially SMBs that want an economical solution that includes coverage for their remote and roaming workers. WebTitan Cloud provides robust endpoint protection and web filtering to all employees, whether they’re at the office or on the road. It deploys instantly and is easy to maintain. Its other benefits include:

• 100% cloud based. No Software installation
• Easy to follow Cloud based administration
• Centrally control multiple routers/locations
• Any number of routers, any number of locations
• Ability to add additional locations instantly
• Any volume of usage
• Extensive reporting on network usage/traffic
• Supports dynamic or changing IP’s
• Works with any device that joins your network
• No latency when browsing

All this, and it’s economical too. We believe that you should have robust and easy to use security solutions with all the required functionality built in.  That’s why we offer powerful network security solutions that hide complexity without compromising functionality.