Security must not suffer

VARs can help companies secure and optimise their current resources, says Nick Cavalancia

Cavalancia: Surveys confirm reduced IT budgets

We recently surveyed our customer base, including IT and security administrators at thousands of small and medium enterprises. The results were unsurprising. Ninety-seven per cent of responders said their overall IT budgets either were flat for 2009 or had fallen in recent months.

These budgetary changes can greatly affect IT security. Attack rates do not decrease in a downturn, and many cost-cutting strategies such as virtualisation open new routes to invasion.

Our survey suggested that 57 per cent of corporate IT departments may now have less money to do their job, and half are being asked to spend less on human resources.

Automation is one answer. Existing tools can secure specific parts of datacentres, including servers and desktops. They can be aligned to the policy framework the company has already deployed.

This presents an opportunity for VARs to advise IT administrators on ways to optimise resources.

For example, as companies downsize, internal data breaches become more likely. A disgruntled employee can easily pull volumes of sensitive internal data from the network via USB.

Yet USB ports can be locked using standard Microsoft functionality, and existing desktop configuration solutions can facilitate this.

Another simple tactic is to ensure the latest Windows patches have been applied to desktops and servers.

Microsoft provides base-patching functionality in its WSUS product, and more comprehensive patching for Microsoft and third-party applications is available through various desktop management solutions.

Our survey did have one bright note. More people said their budgets are increasing for investments in new technologies, when compared to investments in other categories.

Some companies are willing to invest if they can create cost savings based on that investment.

Given that IT security challenges are not going away any time soon, resellers can be creative.

Suggesting investments in new products, that secure an IT environment while best capitalising on solutions a customer has already deployed, is a good way forward.

Nick Cavalancia is vice president for Windows management at ScriptLogic