With cybercrime simultaneously evolving and increasing, finding affordable IT security is a huge concern for many SME owners in Ireland.

In this country alone, 44% of Irish networks currently have exposed vulnerabilities, with Dublin cited as the most affected region. Taking this into consideration, it should come as no surprise that the number of attacks either launched or coordinated through Irish infrastructure has increased by 35% since last year.

It’s vital, in the face of such volatility, for Irish SMEs to put measures in place to protect their organisations from mounting cyber threats. Unfortunately, however, many business owners believe that strong IT security is too expensive or complex for the size of their organisation.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. With the right IT partner, SMEs can achieve dependable and cost-effective cybersecurity protection.

 

The importance of affordable IT security for SMEs

IT security is a vital requirement for Irish SMEs, but most importantly, it must be affordable to be sustainable. Outsourcing your IT needs to a managed service provider (MSP) is one way to achieve both.

MSPs provide a vital service to small businesses in particular, a cohort that has now become a target for over 60% of cyberattacks. This is largely because businesses of this size have fewer security resources, making their systems easier to infiltrate.

Worse still, given the limited budgets SMEs are often operating on, the cost of a breach is likely to be largely disproportionate. Incredibly so, in fact, with the average cyberattack costing over €200,000, a figure that could be detrimental to many small businesses already struggling to stay afloat.

Aside from financial consequences, the reputational repercussions of a cyberattack are also very real, with data breaches often resulting in a significant loss of business customers.

 

How to secure affordable IT security for your SME

If you have decided to seek the services of an experienced, reliable MSP in a bid to safeguard your business’s digital operations, you’re making a wise move.

Here’s a step-by-step on how to go about it.

 

#1. Start with a cybersecurity audit

Before investing in tools or services, it’s important to assess your current security posture.

At Arbelos, we make this easy, offering a free cybersecurity and compliance audit to Irish businesses, which includes Microsoft 365 and Azure configuration reviews.

This will help to identify compliance gaps, along with weak points in your network, devices and cloud settings.

 

 

#2. Tailor your service package to include IT security and compliance solutions

Outsourcing portions of your security to a trusted managed services provider will not only help to reduce overheads, but will give you access to expertise you may not possess in-house.

The key benefits of choosing a service bundle that prioritises security solutions are:

• You can enjoy predictable costs, thanks to fixed monthly fees that help to avoid sudden large expenses.
• You’ll have access to skilled engineers, ensuring you avail of reliable expertise without having to hire full-time, in-house personnel.
• Bundles are scalable, so you can add or reduce services as your business evolves.
• Proactive and continual monitoring will facilitate swift threat detection and response before any incident has the chance to escalate.

It’s important to remember that acquiring reliable IT security is not about spending big; it’s about choosing the right combination of solutions to suit your business.

 

#3. Implement defence practices that align with your risk profile

You don’t need to put enterprise-level defences in place from the get-go. Implementing layered controls that are suited to your risk profile is a more strategic and prudent first step.

To enact these measures, your managed services provider will:

• Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) everywhere – especially on Microsoft 365.
• Define conditional access policies to limit login access by location, device compliance, or risk score.
• Ensure critical data is backed up securely, with off-site or cloud recovery options.
• Implement email security and phishing defence through anti-phishing filters, link scanning, and employee awareness training.
• Use a managed business firewall solution with centralised policy control.
• Deploy endpoint detection and response to monitor and block suspicious activity on devices.

Given the scalability of these controls, you can begin modestly and layer on more protection as your business grows, all under the expert supervision of your MSP.

 

#4. Carry out regular compliance reviews

Security isn’t just about technology; nowadays, a company’s security strategy should also place a wide focus on policies, processes and audit readiness.

With new PwC research finding that 97% of Irish executives are concerned about the growing complexity of compliance requirements, MSPs now play an increasingly vital role in helping businesses to navigate this daunting terrain.

First and foremost, your IT partner will conduct regular compliance reviews to ensure your company is up to date on GDPR and other sector-relevant regulations.

Importantly, an MSP should also support compliance auditing and have the knowledge and experience to flag gaps in your set-up.

 

#5. Ensure your affordable IT security package includes incident response and recovery planning

Even with robust cybersecurity defences in place, it’s still possible for sophisticated breaches to affect your operations.

Prepare for that possibility by creating a response plan to contain, assess and recover rapidly. Your MSP should be on hand to support this.

At Arbelos, we do this by offering emergency data breach response, empowering us to act fast when your infrastructure has become compromised.

 

 

Arbelos: Your choice for reliable and affordable IT security

With almost 20 years of experience, we specialise in serving Irish businesses, providing local legal, regulatory and network knowledge. We pride ourselves on offering clear, actionable recommendations without overwhelming tech speak.

Our IT support bundles are designed to scale and are cost-effective for smaller organisations. What’s more, we offer free cybersecurity and compliance audits, helping SMEs to understand their risk for no upfront cost.

If you’re ready to embrace affordable IT security, we’re ready to assist with your free cybersecurity assessment and tailored roadmap. Contact us today to learn more!