The Trend Toward Outsourcing Cybersecurity for Medium-Sized Businesses

Over 60% of SMBs in the US are seeking to outsource cybersecurity initiatives, and it’s not difficult to see why. Ten years ago, medium-sized weren’t regarded as attractive targets for breaches or ransomware attacks, but now they’re seen as low-hanging fruit – making the risk even more significant.

According to a recent ESG study, 57% of companies in the United States have a cybersecurity skills shortfall. The cyber skills gap is an issue for businesses of all sizes, but the impact on small and medium-sized businesses is unparalleled and unique. Whilst risks may have increased for SMBs, the lack of resources to secure high-value talent in a competitive market has led to critical vulnerabilities within businesses. 

Whilst outsourcing cybersecurity has a wide variety of benefits for small and medium businesses, the three most compelling challenges that it helps overcome are: 

1. Cybersecurity Budget Limitations

Budget limitations and a lack of investment in cybersecurity systems were a concern for 49% of businesses.

Outsourcing avoids expenses incurred along the whole cybersecurity journey from hiring talent and purchasing security tools, to training and paying out salaries. Thus giving businesses greater financial efficiency for security operations. Working with an MSSP, or cybersecurity specialists, additionally allows for predictable pricing and forecasting so you can make the most of the resources available to you.

With the average impact of a data breach today being more than $4.24 million, there is no room for error when investing in the right type of cyber-protection. 

2. Inability to be Scaleable and Keep Up with the Threat Landscape

As your company grows and your needs change from one year to the next, outsourcing provides the opportunity to tap into vendor resources that are able to scale and meet new requirements. Keeping up with the latest cybersecurity threats takes considerable knowledge, specialized training, and honed skills to be effective. 

Unfortunately, many organizations, particularly mid-sized businesses, do not have the bandwidth to employ specialized cybersecurity professionals. An inability to keep up with the latest threats posed a challenge to 54% of SMBs.

3. Innovation and New Technologies

In a truly digital world, keeping up with the latest cybersecurity approaches and technologies can be an intimidating task. Cybercriminals are continuously evolving their strategies and tactics and becoming increasingly well-versed in evading detection.

Cybersecurity specialists are focused on this one area of your business, so they have access to deep industry knowledge, as well as an understanding of the latest security technologies. These specialized security providers often have hundreds or even thousands of clients. What they learn by working with one client can be applied to others. Economies of scale apply to knowledge and expertise, as well as pricing.  

How can Zyston help your business? 

Tailored, always-current cybersecurity solutions to anticipate security risks is what Zyston specializes in, to ensure we can keep your business safe. 

Our newest CyberCAST software enhances our managed security services, illuminating critical insights into an organization’s threat susceptibility and informing a dynamic cybersecurity strategy that matures over time.

We develop both a strategic and tactical roadmap to improve your security score over time and to strengthen and mature your cybersecurity posture.


CyberCAST Security Snapshot
CyberCast Security Reporting

Security reporting that speaks business

Zyston CyberCAST brings the world of cybersecurity metrics up out of the weeds and into the hands of executive decision makers so nothing gets lost in translation. With CyberCAST, your organization gets clear visibility on security risks and also how your organization scores against your industry peers.

Security Maturity 80% | Peer Benchmark