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Have you ever wondered what IT security breaches cost a small to medium business? We do, because assuring your IT systems availability and consistent performance is big part of what we do every day. From a small and medium sized business owner’s perspective it can be really hard to put a value on paying another organisation to monitor your IT Systems, perform preventative maintenance and be there to provide fast and effective resolution if a problem does occur.

I came across this article from eWeek “Survey Shows SMBs Plagued by Spyware“, which references a real world survey from the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). It’s short, sweet and to the point.

The survey was conducted in 2008 and with the increase in Cloud Services and Web based security threats the figures are going to be much higher today. Key points include:

• Spyware will cost the average SMB with 50 users some $4,726 per year.
• Infections cost the average SMB $8,239 per year, including nearly $4,000 in lost employee productivity during the infection and approximately $1,200 in lost employee productivity during repair time.
• Network downtime cost the average SMB $4,726 per year (nearly $4,000 in lost user productivity and a little over $800 in IT labour cost to repair the problem.)
• SMBs that used managed services for network/server monitoring saved 50 percent on average due to shorter repair times and downtime.

What does that tell you? It confirms for me the threats are real, the impact is quantifiable and there’s value in having monitoring services and preventative maintenance on your IT Systems, backed by professionals who are responsive and effective in times of need.

If reading this makes you feel uncomfortable, I’d suggest you do something immediately to ease the pain. Maybe you need to get yourself a 3rd Party perspective (get a health check or an audit of your IT Systems). At the very least, ask your IT support service partner or staff member the tough questions which you need adequately answered. You must be reassured and confident that 1. Your IT is in good health today and 2. If something does go wrong you will experience fast and effective remediation.