A Definition of SECaaS, Benefits, Examples, and More
With the advent of the cloud, there is absolutely nothing about your IT infrastructure that other people or companies cannot do for you. More and more companies are relying on services, such as Amazon AWS, to get their required computing and storage resources to run their websites and applications. Others rely on hypervisors and other technologies to get high-level APIs from online services, or get an entire platform complete with operating systems, middleware, servers, and databases from a third-party provider.
Still, others rely on third-party providers for software and applications. The whole as-a-service environment has made it faster, easier, and more affordable for companies to get their IT demands fulfilled without having to come up with their own infrastructure or invest in developing, maintaining, and creating these resources. Over time, we have seen just about anything being offered as a service, From backends to content, logging, disaster recovery, and storage, services have taken over. Today, it’s even possible to have security delivered as a service.
A Definition of Security as a Service
Security as a service (SECaaS) is an outsourced service wherein an outside company handles and manages your security. At its most basic, the simplest example of security as a service is using an anti-virus software over the Internet.
With security as a service, security solutions are no longer delivered locally, where your IT department installs virus protection software, spam filtering software, and other security tools on each machine or on the network or server in your workplace, keeping the software up-to-date or telling them to use it. The old way of doing things is also expensive; you have upfront costs for hardware as well as continuing costs for licenses to allow you to use the software. Instead, security as a service allows you to use the same tools using only a web browser, making it direct and affordable.
Benefits of Security as a Service
There are a lot of advantages to using a security as a service offering. These include:
You work with the latest and most updated security tools available.
You get the best security people working for you.
Faster provisioning.
You get to focus on what's more important for your organization.
Makes in-house management simpler.
Save on costs.
Examples of Security as a Service Offerings
Security as a service encompasses security software that are delivered on the cloud, as well as in-house security management that is offered by a third party. Some of the solutions that you can avail touch on several categories, as outlined by the Cloud Security Alliance:
Disaster recovery and business continuity.
Continuous monitoring.
Data loss prevention.
Email security.
Encryption.
Identity and access management.
Intrusion management.
Network security.
Security assessment.
Security information and event management.
Vulnerability scanning.
Web security.
What to Look for in SECaaS Providers
If you’re thinking about utilizing the services of a SECaaS provider, there are a few important things to look for:
Security as a Service is becoming an increasingly popular option among enterprises and SMBs alike. The growing adoption of SECaaS is driven by a shortage of security resources – including qualified infosec professionals as well as skills and tools as a whole – coupled with the ever-expanding threat landscape. For many companies today, the idea of outsourcing the management, implementation, and oversight of the complex realm of security simply makes sense, and it’s proving a cost-effective investment for companies that take advantage of it.