Consider outsourcing
Managed antivirus services (eg, My ASAP from McAfee), messaging service providers (eg, MessageLabs), and managed security service providers are all sources for antivirus protection. These service providers will remotely manage antivirus products on desktops, file servers, and, most commonly, the SMTP gateway and firewall. If you are lacking the resources to manage the constant updating of antivirus signatures and the frequent upgrading of antivirus product versions, managed antivirus services could be your answer to more effective and efficient antivirus protection.
While antivirus software has been around for a while now, the managed hosting of antivirus solutions isn’t so mature, but it is a market on the rise. Andrew Grace, of antivirus and security software company Trend Micro, thinks it is the way of the future, going as far to say that in five years time the people who are still managing security inhouse will be the odd ones out.
The reasons to outsource the security functions of your business are much like the reasons to outsource any other parts of your business--such as receiving 24x7 protection, exposure to expert staff, cost savings, and more effective time management.
At Symantec, senior director worldwide planning and strategy, Kerrie Turner, is finding customers really appreciate the access to expertise. “Security professionals are hard to get on the market, all over the world—they are hard to get, hard to keep, and very expensive,” she says. “SMEs have IT managers wearing all different hats, customers look to us for expertise.”
These sentiments are shared by Zento’s CEO Arthur Argyropoulos. “It is hard to find people with the proper accreditations and it is hard to retain them,” he says. Zento is a managed service provider specialising in McAfee and Trend Micro antivirus solutions.
For SMEs the problem of finding experienced security staff is real, as they don’t have the company numbers nor the budget to entice the experts. This is just one reason why Network Associates sees the small to medium businesses as the key market for outsourcing security solutions.
“Managed antivirus is a great idea but it isn’t for everyone. Antivirus is not core to your business but it is a critical part,” says McIntyre. “The larger enterprises have very heavy investment in IT anyway, and it isn’t really what they are looking for from their outsourcing partner.”
If the price is right
Of course a large factor in the decision to outsource is the cost. Some things to keep in mind are the ongoing costs of antivirus management, the cost of skilled staff, as well as taking into consideration the potential costs of business downtime
if a virus worms its way into your system.
McIntyre estimates that buying antivirus software only accounts for 20 percent of the total cost of the antivirus solution, with the other 80 percent being management of the software. “How do you quantify the cost of the software--exactly how long is a piece of string?” he says. “The real cost is the distraction, keeping it up to date.”
Like most security solutions, the cost benefit can’t be derived from how much you are spending, but how much you think the company brand or a day’s work is worth--both of which are in jeopardy if a harmful virus infects your system. Most vendors are loath to give a out a price estimate, saying it is different for each company. Also it would be rare for a company to implement an antivirus solution alone, instead the cost of antivirus would just be a part of the total security solution. However, to give you an idea of pricing, Zento says it has solutions starting at US$500 a month.
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