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As a financial firm, you rely on technology to process transactions and help clients manage their money, but keeping that technology running smoothly can be challenging.
Financial institutions need to be proactive in preventing cyberattacks, as they often work with sensitive client information. They also need to stay up-to-date with changing technologies and regulations to avoid falling behind – something that can be difficult for growing financial firms with small IT teams.
That’s where co-managed IT solutions can help. With co-managed IT, you get access to a larger team of tech experts, without the added cost of hiring them full-time.
Key Takeaways
- Co-managed IT services are a partnership between an in-house IT team and an external managed services provider.
- Many small financial firms don’t have the time or resources to handle all the IT challenges coming their way. Co-managed IT services are a cost-efficient way to increase productivity.
- A managed service provider offers cybersecurity and digital compliance expertise that you may not have in-house.
- Collaborating with a managed services provider can help you avoid damaging and costly cyberattacks.
What Are Co-Managed IT Services?
In a co-managed IT support structure, your firm’s in-house IT team works with a third-party managed services provider (MSP) to handle your IT, cybersecurity, and technical compliance needs.
The MSP handles tasks that you don’t have the time, resources, or expertise for in-house. They will configure services to fill in the gaps in your existing IT operations. As your business grows, an MSP will help you adjust and scale your technology to keep up. This takes the pressure off your internal IT team, as they can outsource tasks as needed.
Co-managed IT services are also a cost-effective alternative to hiring more full-time IT staff. You’ll get access to a full team of experienced IT professionals, without spending money on training, benefits, and other added costs that come with hiring full-time employees.
How Can Co-Managed IT Services Help Your Financial Firm?
Co-managed IT services offer a variety of benefits for financial organizations. With an MSP on your side, you can spend more time focusing on your clients, and less time focusing on infrastructure management or troubleshooting.
Cybersecurity
One of the biggest benefits of working with an MSP is access to an entire team of cybersecurity experts.
Financial firms are often targeted by hackers and other threat actors. In fact, cyberattacks on the financial sector have been increasing in recent years, hitting a new high of 3,348 incidents in 2023 across the global financial industry.
This is because financial firms often store sensitive data like credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If this data ends up in the wrong hands, it could be sold on the black market and lead to identity theft.
An MSP can work with your in-house team to upgrade your IT infrastructure for more security. Depending on your business, this might mean installing new next-generation firewalls, anti-virus and anti-malware tools, and endpoint detection and response tools.
Your MSP will also help with 24/7 network monitoring and threat detection, so you can respond to cyberattacks more quickly. They can also help with access management so that only employees and clients can use your systems. This involves strengthening passwords and implementing multi-factor authentication.
Compliance
Financial firms have to adhere to very strict regulatory compliance and consumer protection standards.
For example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires US-based financial services companies to take steps to protect consumer financial data. To comply, you’ll need to develop a privacy policy and prevent unauthorized access to your systems. You also must communicate with your customers when their data is shared or exposed to third parties.
These standards are necessary to keep consumer financial information private and secure. Your MSP can help you conduct audits and implement new security measures to make sure you remain compliant.
Compliance typically involves implementing security measures to protect client data, maintaining appropriate documentation, and providing compliance training for your team.
Having a compliance strategy helps keep your clients safe, and it also helps your business avoid costly fines and legal consequences.
IT Support
With co-managed IT services, you’ll be able to provide better technical support for your entire team.
Your MSP can provide help desk support, troubleshooting all the technical issues that come up in the course of a typical workday. This gives your internal team time to focus on more complex and strategic IT projects that require in-depth knowledge of your business goals.
Partnering with an MSP can also help you fill any knowledge gaps you have on your internal team. Say you encounter a technical issue that your in-house team hasn’t seen before and isn’t sure how to fix. You can reach out to your MSP to see if their team can help.
This way, you can get your IT issues solved faster and minimize downtime. Additionally, your in-house team and MSP can learn from each other to improve the overall quality of your IT management.
Scalability
A co-managed services arrangement can help your business scale without resulting in frustrating outages or compromising the quality of your services.
For example, your MSP can help you implement new cloud services to expand your data storage capabilities. They can also help you select and install new financial software platforms to suit your changing business needs.
Partnering with an MSP also effectively expands your IT department without having to hire new full-time employees. As a result, co-managed IT services will help you boost your productivity as your company grows.
Cost-Savings
Working with an MSP can help you cut back on costs in a variety of ways. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to access services like comprehensive system monitoring, employee cybersecurity training, and technical compliance audits. Hiring employees to handle these tasks in house can quickly get expensive, but working with an MSP is a more affordable alternative.
Additionally, your MSP can help you avoid costly cyber threats. The global average cost of a data breach in 2024 was $4.88 million, a 10% increase from 2023. From the initial cost of repairing your systems to lost revenue from long-term clients, these attacks can be truly devastating.
Your MSP will partner with your internal IT team to constantly monitor your systems for abnormal activity. Access control strategies, firewalls, and network management will also help keep threat actors out of your systems.
You can also work with your MSP to find more cost-effective financial software programs and IT solutions. They can recommend new technologies to help you save money in the long run.
Disaster Recovery
Unexpected events like cyber attacks or natural disasters can be devastating for your company. However, working with an MSP can help you bounce back faster.
Your MSP will help you conduct regular data backups to ensure that no key documents or information is lost, even in the event of a disaster. They can also help you develop a detailed disaster recovery plan, so your entire team will know exactly what to do in this scenario.
How to Choose the Right Co-Managed IT Provider
Your managed IT services provider will be working very closely with your entire in-house staff, so finding the right fit is essential.
Start by looking for a provider that is familiar with the financial industry and has worked with companies similar to yours in the past. Financial organizations have unique compliance and cybersecurity needs, and your MSP should know how to handle these with ease.
On top of that, look for an MSP with a team of experts that can balance out your in-house staff. For example, if your team is excellent at troubleshooting and help desk management, but needs extra cybersecurity support, focus your efforts there.
Finally, consider your MSP’s customer service options and pricing structure. They should be very responsive and pleasant to work with—these qualities will help the collaboration flow with ease.
Is Tech Advisors Right For You?
Tech Advisors offers managed IT, cybersecurity, and compliance services for organizations in the financial industry. We serve as your complete tech partner, offering 24/7 remote support options at consistent, reasonable prices. We’ll get to know your company’s unique needs and help you develop a cybersecurity strategy to keep your financial systems safe.
Contact our team today to learn more about our co-managed IT partnership options.
