As our reliance on internet technology and the cloud continues to grow, cyber security is a growing concern for individuals and businesses. For businesses, outsourcing their IT operations can come with the advantage of enhanced security and compliance. Professional IT support can help ensure security of data and minimize or eliminate costly downtime. This, along with the lower operating costs, drives the trend towards outsourcing IT services.

Why businesses are outsourcing IT
The world of internet technology and our reliance on it for business and personal use continues to grow. Many businesses are discovering that the technology, with its potential as well as challenges, is growing at a faster pace than they can handle on their own. Short of hiring new IT staff on a regular basis and arranging for their continued and continual professional training, the best option is to outsource their IT services to a specialist company. The increased reliance on cloud computing points in the same direction.
The trend in outsourcing IT support to managed IT services continues to grow. As of 2015, more than two-thirds or 66% of businesses surveyed reported that they had outside IT solutions during the past year. As much as 31% of all IT operations worldwide have been outsourced, according to the 2016 Deloitte Global Outsourcing Survey. The market for managed security services providers is increasing rapidly. It is projected to double by 2020, going from the current value of $17.02 billion to $33.68 billion.

Enhanced security and compliance
Lower costs, access to the latest technology without major investments in staffing and infrastructure, and enhanced security and compliance are the most important reasons for businesses to outsource their IT support. As many as 61% of businesses that use IT companies found that it reduced their operating costs, offering the best return on investment or ROI.
Cyber security and compliance are also important reasons for businesses to choose IT security services. Preserving the security and integrity of data in case of downtime or malicious attacks is a major concern for more than half, or 58% of all businesses. The solution is to outsource IT support to specialist firms with the staff to provide state of the art security. This also helps to minimize losses and costs due to system downtime.

As individuals and businesses come to rely more and more on the internet, they also encounter concerns regarding cyber security and the integrity of online data and transactions. For businesses, outsourcing their IT support operations has the added advantage of enhancing security and compliance. Lower operating costs without a major investment in staffing and infrastructure likewise drive the tend towards the use of managed services providers.