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Why Top IT Managed Services Companies Recommend Multiple IT Assessments
The complexities of business technology continue to expand. When you think about it, we’ve come a long way from just 15 years ago when your one-man IT department handled everything “tech” for your business. Today, trained professionals that continue earning IT credentials are at the top of the IT food chain and they work for an MSP because of the resources available that allow them to advance in the industry.
It’s kind of like your driver’s license test. The roads would be a dangerous place if all you had to do is prove you can see. Instead, we feel much safer knowing that drivers on the road went through rounds of different assessments. Starting with a required minimum number of hours driving with an instructor, to the written test and road course – multiple assessments gather more accurate data for better decision-making.
It’s for this very reason that small businesses rely on multiple IT assessments throughout the year. While one assessment may identify vulnerabilities in your Office 365 tenant, another generates evidence based on your employees’ behavior.
Here are three scenarios where each respective IT assessment will reveal the gaps in your systems that hackers are targeting.
Scenario I: Office 365 Migration
You’re planning a migration to Office 365 and want to make sure you’ve planned out your security policies and procedures correctly.
NexusTek’s Microsoft 365 Security Assessment identifies the most critical controls that should be applied in your environment. Once the report is delivered, our engineers will analyze and provide you with guidance on prioritizing and implementing a remediation plan in a phased manner to minimize any disruption to your employees.
Our end-to-end approach to the assessment process includes set up and deployment, a detailed review of the assessment, recommendations on next steps, and an overview of the best practices to successfully implement Office 365 security features.
Scenario II: Who or What Is Causing Productivity Issues?
Your employees keep complaining about their workstations running slow or constantly getting viruses. You’re not sure if the problem is your firewall or their behavior.
One of the easiest way’s hackers try to compromise your network is through the use of phishing and spear phishing, a socially-engineered attack designed to trick users into clicking malicious links or unwittingly giving up their credentials. Often, their email will contain a link that redirects users to a fake login in page where they will enter their credentials. An attacker will use these credentials to gain access to critical applications, leading to a data breach.
NexusTek deploys a Phishing Test as a tool to train employees who might click on those suspicious links. Once the test is deployed and results are complete, our team will send you a customized report on with details of employee behaviors. By identifying your most vulnerable users, we can implement granular user and device-based policies like two-factor authentication, user access limitations to critical systems and more.
Scenario III: New Software, New Problems
You’re getting ready to deploy a new software, but not sure if the new system will create new vulnerabilities in your security. A penetration test (pen test) is a simulated cyberattack against your IT system. The goal is to find vulnerabilities before the bad guys do, so that NexusTek’s experts can remediate and patch accordingly.
However, like the other assessments we’ve discussed, a pen test isn’t a one-and-done project. Your business’s network is dynamic, and as time goes on, and new admins make changes, these updates need to be tested and retested.
A pen test has the potential to provide vital insights and reveal gaps in your existing cyber security strategy. Depending on your industry and compliance requirements, a pen test may even be mandatory.
No two security tests are created equal. You want an IT partner who understands the ins-and-outs of your business. We design our pen tests around your business based on your company size, the maturity of your IT environment, compliance requirements, and more.
At NexusTek, we partner with companies to deploy the best IT assessments that are tried and true industry standards. With our comprehensive assessment portfolio – from Office 365 and cyber security to cloud and unified communications – it’s possible to collect data across every department.
Multiple IT assessments are easy to implement. NexusTek’s technology experts manage the experience, then guide you through the results one-on-one to address any questions or concerns you may have.
In the end, you’ll gain a more complete understanding of the technology that powers your business –and that’s powerful intelligence you can use right away!