In a time when cybercriminals are continually developing new tactics to compromise personal and business data, it’s more important than ever to find ways to improve cybersecurity within your firm.  

This is especially true for today’s small and midsize businesses (SMBs). According to the 2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, 43% of breaches targeted SMBs. In today’s ever-changing cyber landscape, traditional perimeter-focused defences – such as firewalls and anti-virus – are no longer enough to protect your SMB against modern cybercriminals. 

So, how do you choose a cybersecurity solution that will protect your organisation, whilst providing the flexibility and mobility required to grow your business? One way is to find a quality unified threat management (UTM) solution that not only prevents cyber threats from entering your network, but also minimises the number of disparate parts and simplifies your network. Another option is to partner with a trusted service provider, like Optec, to manage your network and security. 

To choose the right security solution for your organisation, it’s important to understand what key considerations to take into account. To help, we outline four tips for selecting the right SMB security solution from our security partner, Fortinet.

Proven Effectiveness

The primary job of your UTM is to protect your business. Yet, not all offerings have the same effectiveness. Some products on the market today use open-source technologies to keep cost down. Others include acquired security technologies as a bolt-on to their traditional portfolio. Still others have stripped-down enterprise capabilities in order to run on the smaller UTM devices. Be sure to look for UTM solutions, ideally homegrown, that go through routine, independent testing of security effectiveness to know how well your business will be protected.

Breadth of Functionality

With threats constantly changing, the security capabilities needed in a UTM continually expand. The same can be said for your business network and the networking capabilities of your UTM, which often require more physical wireless access points and wired switch ports as well as intelligence to manage traffic across it. 

Further, with the rise of valuable cloud services- like Microsoft Office 365, Google G-suite and more- extending visibility and control is critical. Look for vendors that continually add the latest security services—today, things like web application firewall, cloud sandboxing, CASB and more— as well as those that offer a wide range of networking options. This extensibility ensures that your solution can grow as your business does, delivering ongoing value to your initial investment. 

Ease of Management

Purchasing security and networking components from different vendors can not only become expensive, but getting them all set up and then managing them on a regular basis can be time-consuming. Consider how well-integrated a vendor’s security and networking products are and whether they can be controlled from the same console. Do they deploy quickly? How much ongoing tuning and other administration is required? Look for solutions that require minimal effort to manage and maintain, ideally by a trusted partner. This will keep your hard and soft costs to a manageable level.

Market Adoption

While technology always evolves and new players and products may appear on the scene, it doesn’t take long for the market to recognise which products deliver value. Look to see who the market of your peers is voting on with their pounds based on units sold. A bonus if you know someone at another organisation who uses that product and has firsthand experience to share.

A Trusted Network Solution

When it comes down to it, all of the requirements mentioned above can be found in Fortinet’s powerful UTM appliance. And, as Fortinet partners, we can help you make the most of your Fortinet solutions by implementing and managing a customised security solution. Whether you require additional resources to supplement your in-house team or are looking for a fully managed solution, our team of qualified Fortinet engineers are here to help.

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