Cybersecurity and the Advantages of the Sharing Economy

The Sharing Economy is all the rage these days. Most people think of things like Uber or AirBnB when talking about the sharing economy, but the concept has value in a diverse array of industries—including cybersecurity. Shared economy may not be a completely accurate way to describe it, but there are many similarities between the benefits of shared economy offerings and the benefits of working with a managed security services provider for cybersecurity.

The Sharing Economy

The foundation of the shared economy lies in a simple premise. Organizations and people invest in resources. They can recoup some of that investment—and possibly make a healthy profit—by letting other people lease or rent those resources when they’re not in use. It’s a win-win.

Instead of leasing office space, companies can take advantage of co-working spaces. You partner with the co-working space provider and let them handle things like facility maintenance and upkeep, utilities, building security, etc. You just show up and work. You don’t have to buy a car when you can just Uber. The Uber driver can deal with the capital and operational expenses of owning and maintaining a vehicle—fuel, oil changes, new tires, insurance, etc. You just show up and get where you’re going.

In addition to removing some cost and complexity, the sharing economy also yields better outcomes in most cases. The people you are partnering with do what they do for a living. It is all they’re focused on. The co-working space provider is probably going to do a better job than you at caring for the facility because it is their business. The same for the Uber driver and his or her car.

Cybersecurity and the Sharing Economy

When it comes to cybersecurity, it makes sense to work with an MSSP for many of the same reasons. Organizations can offload the burden of researching and selecting cybersecurity solutions and let the cybersecurity provider worry about maintaining and updating the cybersecurity infrastructure and monitoring the network around the clock to detect and respond to security incidents. Let someone else focus on security research to identify emerging threats and deal with the challenge of staying a step ahead of attackers. You just get effective cybersecurity, so you can focus on your customers and grow your business.

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It’s also true that cybersecurity is what the MSSP does for a living. For most companies, security is not a primary focus and they don’t have the resources or skills to do it right. A business that focuses on providing cybersecurity is going to do a better job of staying on top of trends and new technologies, and better at hiring, training, and retaining people with the necessary skills.

Sharing a Limited Pool of Cybersecurity Talent

If you want to manage your own cybersecurity and hire your own cybersecurity professional or team of professionals, good luck. It is estimated that nearly 4 million cybersecurity jobs will be unfilled by 2021 due to a severe shortage of individuals with the right skills and experience. With so many companies fighting to hire so few qualified people, it will be very difficult to find people. Even if you do, it will be expensive to hire them and even more expensive to keep them in a market where they are in such high demand.

In addition to the benefits listed above for the sharing economy or working with an MSSP for cybersecurity, you also avoid having to deal with the struggle of finding and keeping the right cybersecurity talent. By working with an MSSP, you also effectively get to share and take advantage of their cybersecurity expertise.

You can build or rent your own office, and you can use your own car to drive everywhere. You don’t have to embrace the sharing economy. In most cases, though, the sharing economy makes sense because what you want is not the thing itself—the office space or the car—but what it can do for you. When it comes to cybersecurity, you can get more effective protection for less cost—and greater peace of mind—by partnering with an MSSP.