What does “IT Solutions Provider” mean to you? Coming from me, it may seem like an odd question,...
Why IT Security is Important for Non Profits
Could it be that you are worried about your non profit organization's IT effectiveness and security strength yet are both unsure where to start and afraid of the costs? You are not alone. This is a valid concern and common challenge for organizations, both large and small, in the non profit sector. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as entrusting our digital security to the standard settings on the technology providers we use every day such as Google, Apple, or even Microsoft. There are just too many gaps where hackers can intercept our sensitive information. This is why IT security is especially important for non profits.
Large companies may have bigger budgets and more assets to justify higher security spending. Non profit organizations, like yourself, must be budget-conscious and committed to maximizing each donor dollar and volunteer hour without sacrificing security. The cost of data loss is more than a financial figure. Your reputation is on the line.
The good news is that it doesn't have to break the bank to get help in this area. A good Managed IT Services Provider (MSP) will actually increase your effectiveness in addition to your security. Partnering with a quality MSP can stretch and protect each dollar and hour donated to your cause and mission.
What's At Stake?
Many times, there is a misunderstanding over what is being protected, what cyber threats are, and why it matters. Why spend money on data protection and security to protect something that "is probably already secure enough", "is not a high-profile target", or "won't cause that much damage if compromised?" The unfortunate reality is that hackers are finding ever more creative ways around standard security measures. Easy targets are more enticing to hackers than large companies. Damage done from a single, seemingly simple, successful cyber or ransomware attack can be a nuisance to any organization, or even has the potential to be crippling. We have seen nonprofit organizations become the victims of "simple" security breaches which have
- defaced websites
- disabled incoming donations
- exposed donors' sensitive information in data breach
- re-routed incoming donations and outgoing payments with identity theft
- compromised member and volunteer personal information
and more, many times grinding operations to a halt. When it comes to nonprofit cybersecurity, the benefits far outweigh the costs. Here are just a few reasons you should consider partnering with a quality MSP:
1. Saving Money
Nonprofit organizations often try to leverage manpower already available to them in the form of staff, volunteers, and supporters. Surely someone in this pool of people must have the existing data security and data privacy skills. They should at least have the ability to learn cybersecurity basics to strengthen their IT security systems. While we applaud the efforts of all involved with helping to manage everything IT "in-house," the simple fact is that this can turn out to be more costly, unreliable, or both. "IT" is a highly skilled field with many professional disciplines and specialties. Even a top-level, highly paid, IT professional cannot perform the specific duties of every specialty.
Many times, people with a good understanding of IT, a big heart, and the best of intentions are put in charge of things meant for a specialist or team of specialists. Combined with their other responsibilities, that person will spend too much, or too little, time focusing on the wrong thing. Inevitably this leads to turn over where each new person who takes on the nonprofit cyber security role will "reinvent the wheel" based on their own limited scope of knowledge.
Luckily, a Managed Services Provider with readily available expertise in all your needed areas can streamline your IT operations and save you money. They can efficiently provide you with solutions and tailor services to your exact needs. You essentially get the expertise of an entire team of IT specialists for just what you need without the full-time payroll, management, and turnover costs.
If nothing else, you could think of an MSP as a kind of cyber insurance. If your nonprofit organization is not using an MSP, you risk leaving money on the table. In fact, according to Gartner, nearly half of small businesses with less than $1 million in annual revenue use an MSP. That's because these providers can save them money by providing more efficient solutions and better service.
2. Increasing Productivity
Having managed services that provide IT support and cyber security in areas of risk assessment, device management, multi-factor authentication, data security, backups, email, voice calling and messaging, will provide your members and volunteers with tried and tested tools. Having these carefully selected tools established as your organizational standard means less time sourcing individual solutions. It also eliminates the challenge of collaboration among team members with different IT tools. A key reason better IT security resources are important for non profits is that it provides you and your team members peace of mind, so you can spend your time focusing on the work of your mission.
3. Strengthening Your Technology
Being productive without being secure puts the fruits of that productivity at risk. That is why cybersecurity is critically important. Think of every application, every email, every website, and every Wi-Fi connection that each of your colleagues will encounter. Those everyday activities, and many others, are a potential threat to your IT security network if not handled correctly.
Protecting your own personal data by securing your systems and optimizing your application features is nearly impossible. How then can nonprofits expect all their team members to stay up to speed on all the cybersecurity measures needed, at the organizational level, to keep hackers and cyber criminals at bay. It is overly optimistic if not delusional.
An MSP providing you with managed security can appropriately address every angle of cybersecurity vulnerabilities to mitigate risk to your organization. They will respond with reactive measures such as incident response and system recovery when there are active threats. They will employ preventative measures such as patch management, strong password policy enforcement and cybersecurity awareness training. The goal of risk management is to control as many cybersecurity and system failure risks as possible. The best way to carry out risk mitigation is to entrust the work to trained and certified IT professionals.
Nothing's in Your Way!
There is nothing stopping you from helping your nonprofit organization reach its noble goal by upgrading its operations. Stopping scary cyberattacks and preventing IT security breaches can be the first step forward with the right MSP partner.
The question for nonprofit organizations should not be "Can we afford managed IT services?" but rather "Can we afford not to?" The risk simply isn't worth it.
The Ideal Balance
As a nonprofit organization looking out for your people, data and global activities, you likely need
- Help with any type of technology issue or cyber attack you might encounter.
- A wide range of technical, data security and cyber security services at one place (scalable to your needs and objectives).
- Reduced costs and INCREASED security.
- Improved productivity by providing training and support.
- Minimal downtime by ensuring that your systems are running at peak efficiency.
Not harnessing the power of a Managed Services Provider 'saves you money' in the same way as keeping the electricity turned off does; it holds you back and leaves you in the dark.
At Movaci, our joy is to offer tailored, scalable solutions to strengthen your technology and simplify your security.
So, flip that switch and put us to work helping you help others!
Until next time,
Christopher M, CEO
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