Benefits of Endpoint Security for Your Small Business

Right now, the world is more connected than ever before, thanks to mobile devices. Those connections are about to explode. By 2030, there could be as many as 24.1 billion devices connected to the internet.

The sheer number of devices offers unprecedented opportunities, particularly for businesses. At the same time, every device connected to the internet also presents a new vulnerability. Each device online provides a unique access point to your network, which increases your risk of fighting off an attack.

Endpoint security exists to tackle the issue presented by devices via a systematic risk management program.

Are you ready to learn more? Here’s why endpoint security is a critical issue for every business.

What is Endpoint Security?

Endpoint security is the practice of ensuring that a network endpoint isn’t open to attack. In this case, a network endpoint is every piece of hardware associated with your network. Common endpoints include:

Phones
Tablets
Laptops
Desktops
Servers

These are the most common endpoint devices now. However, they’re increasingly growing as the Internet of Things continues to explode. Less common but increasing device use includes:

Media devices
Asset tracking
Lighting
Connected vehicles

In reality, every device connected to your network is an endpoint. And every device can make your system vulnerable to attack.

Why is Endpoint Management So Difficult?

Endpoint security grows more complex every single year. There are two reasons for this.

First, endpoint security becomes more critical as you add devices to your network. In the past, securing a network of immovable desktop computers was the only task. Today, you may have a long list of devices for just one employee, and they may run different operating systems and thus come with unique vulnerabilities.

Second, device management today is much more flexible than it was in the past. Ten or twenty years ago, employees worked on company-issued devices. These devices were uniform and all managed by the company IT department. Today, you not only have to secure work product, but you also need to account for all the personal devices workers use.

Both of these problems will only become further compounded as the number of devices a person uses grows and as people become even more mobile.

The big takeaway: the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) coupled with increasingly mobile employees means you can no longer rely on a simple perimeter. Your company needs a border that’s flexible in terms of device type and location but doesn’t give an inch on security.

What Does Endpoint Security Include?

So, how does a company create and deploy an endpoint security program? It takes more than an antivirus suite.

A complete endpoint security system will include the features relevant for the organization type. These include:

Data classification
Data loss mitigation
Endpoint and data encryption
Application control
Insider threat protection
Privileged user control
Antimalware and antivirus protection
Integrated firewalls

Often, the most effective endpoint security includes both software installed on every device and a central security system, either managed in house or via a managed IT service provider.

What Are the Benefits of Endpoint Management?

At this point, you have a keen understanding of the vulnerabilities all the different network endpoints produce for your company.

Mitigating vulnerabilities and stopping attacks are already great benefits, but endpoint management offers even more value to those who adopt it.

1. Minimize Downtime

Often, cyber security attacks are associated with data theft or destruction. More commonly, a cyber security attack is a malware attack aimed at your servers. If successful, the malware can take your servers out for hours, days, or weeks.

Server downtime is the real killer in cyber threats because it grinds your company to a halt. The cost of downtime is:

Lost Revenue + Lost Productivity + Recovery Costs

Depending on the size of your business, server downtime could cost you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour.

2. Protect Your Reputation

Criminals don’t just target high profile companies like Target or Home Depot. Often, more lucrative targets are small and medium-sized businesses with weaker security measures. It takes less effort to get in, which makes the attack a better investment.

You don’t need to get press like Target for an attack to impact your reputation. Any data loss or downtime can not only damage customer perception of your company but employee perception, too.

Damage to your reputation can cost more than any emergency data recovery tool.

3. Streamlined Cyber security

In the past, cyber security used a piecemeal approach that targeted different vulnerabilities by risk severity. However, that approach was inefficient both for systems and for those managing the program.

Today, it’ possible to achieve a security program that’s streamlined, simplified, and much more holistic. Streamlined security, thanks to endpoint security, means better coverage and more agility. Both factors add value to your security program and your business as a whole.

Get Started with Endpoint Security

Endpoint security allows your company and employee’s freedom and flexibility both in terms of the devices use and where you use them. It helps prevent attacks and mitigates loss, and it covers areas that an anti-virus won’t, like insider threats. The best part is that your program is customizable and streamlined, so it meets your needs without any gaps or overlapping duties.

So, how do you get started? The first step is to begin an assessment of your current IT system, including needs, vulnerabilities, and future plans. With a full evaluation ready, you can build a custom plan to keep intruders out and allow your team to flourish.

Are you ready to streamline your IT services? Get in touch for a one-hour consultation and to learn more about how a managed IT services provider in San Jose can transform your security.