ON June 2016 | Page 20

OUTSOURCING: BUILDING TRUST AND REAPING THE BENEFITS As technology continues to evolve rapidly, an increasing number of organizations are finding that handling the entire IT stack internally has become a near impossibility. In many organizations, IT budgets are limited, meaning there may be just one or a handful or resources dedicated to keeping the lights on and simultaneously innovating. But even in places where IT is more robust, it can be extremely difficult to hire and retain all of the skill sets necessary for running modern IT. Cyber security is an example of a practice area where outsourcing has become a necessity for many organizations. A recent CIO.com article, for example, called out “security takes center stage” as the top IT outsourcing trend for 2016. The reason for the surge of interest in outsourcing is simple: organizations simply don’t have in-house talent with the skill sets necessary to handle increasingly complex and wide-ranging practice areas. For example, a recent global survey of cyber security professionals found that fewer than 25 percent of cyber security applicants are qualified to perform the skills needed for the job. Statistics like that are driving the outsourcing market to new heights. In fact, the Cisco 2016 Annual Security Report revealed that 88 percent of organizations now outsource at least some of their security functions, such as consultation, audit, monitoring and incident response. The top five reasons given for outsourcing in the Cisco survey were: • More cost-efficient • Desire for unbiased insight • More timely response to incidents • Lack of internal expertise • Lack of internal resources