With a multitude of software choices available, the challenge for CIOs and IT directors isn’t necessarily how to safeguard their organization, but rather how to effectively manage their security solution and ensure their infrastructure, and an ever-changing list of end users is consistently protected.
Defining Managed and Unmanaged
Antivirus uses an up-to-date virus database to scan a computer for potential threats. In an unmanaged environment, the end-user has the ability to deny updates, turn off the scanner, or even uninstall the software.
A managed solution is provided by an IT partner. Technology experts install the software on all end-points (servers, desktops, laptops, etc.) and manage the solution by ensuring security patches are up-to-date, scanners are up-to-date, and scans happen at a convenient time as to not impact the end-user. If configured correctly, the managed solution also notifies the IT team that a threat has been detected.
While these core differences are generally enough to get most in-house IT leaders hunting for a trusted partner, there are exponential benefits to a managed AV solution. Here are a few perks your company will experience after integrating a managed Antivirus solution:
1. Uniformity & Consistency Across the Environment
With a trusted and qualified IT partner maintaining your defensive front line, you can expect all machines to run the same up-to-date-version of the same software, protecting your assets from new security threats that surface. It is clean and highly-effective.
2. User Productivity and System Performance
Nothing is more irritating to an employee than being interrupted & forced to run a software update, and there is NO convenient time for this. Commence the spiral of death – the update is ignored, systems are put at risk, performance begins to suffer, and the risk of downtime are increased.
3. Simplified Management
Managing antivirus is a tough, thankless, and mundane task especially in larger companies with an already overworked IT department, or where different solutions may need to be employed in different areas of the company. A managed solution relieves the burden and returns creative time to your most valued employees.
4. Outsourcing risk offers complete protection
Regardless of what product you use, how regularly you run updates, and how effective your platform is at identifying malware, the odds are that you will eventually be hit and possibly infected. In a managed world, a qualified partner will be trained on how to remove the virus quickly and efficiently, ensuring that your systems are truly secure.
5. Bonus! Lower cost
Even with the advantages presented, a managed product may actually cost less than what you’d pay for off-the-shelf software. Most managed antivirus solutions are offered as per-seat, monthly package, not annual blocks of five or 10. Also, additional savings in soft costs such as increased productivity, decreased risk, and less noise for your IT department will push that needle even further.
A managed Antivirus offers many advantages to an organization, and typically implementation can be done with limited interruption to your team. If you’d like to understand how the service can benefit your company give us a call and we can set up a consultation.
Learn More About Matt
Matt Rosenthal is CEO and President of Mindcore, a full-service tech firm. He is a leader in the field of cyber security, designing and implementing highly secure systems to protect clients from cyber threats and data breaches. He is an expert in cloud solutions, helping businesses to scale and improve efficiency.
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