Saas: Delivering experts without the cost

Hacks on the rise

One of the fastest-growing areas when it comes to SaaS is SECaaS (Security as a Service), provided by household names such as McAfee®. Experts are predicting the market to grow to more than $4bn by 2016 and IDC believes that by 2018 the cloud will account for 20 per cent of the money spent on software.

The growth comes as Australia sees huge increases in the number of cyber attacks on business: The Australian Signals Directorate said earlier this year that cyber attacks on Aussie businesses increased by 20 per cent in 2014, with banking and finance, resources and energy, defence and telecommunications the most heavily targeted industries.

It’s a problem that requires protection at all levels of the business, but endpoint protection – protection of laptops, desktops and servers is arguably the most critical.

Protecting the endpoint

McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection detects viruses, spyware, adware and other potentially unwanted programs before they install and compromise desktops, laptops and servers, helping businesses to do their thing without worrying about attacks.

With a team of dedicated security professionals, it’s one of the prime examples of the SaaS revolution – specialists providing an enterprise-level scalable solution that’s within reach for small and medium businesses across the country.

The beauty of these solutions is that they’re designed for the end-user in mind, not IT professionals, so don’t require an advanced knowledge of computers or security to implement: Features like McAfee SiteAdvisor ratings alert teams to potentially dangerous websites before they enter, while downloadable files are scanned for threats before they reach your computers, laptops, desktops, PCs or servers.

For business owners, the benefits lie in reduced capital equipment investments and security licensing costs, giving integrated security, automated updates and 24/7 technical support for a monthly fee.

The verdict

The concept of “big data” has been spoken about in boardrooms and business for a long time, but with more data comes higher risk of compromise from hackers. Endpoint Protection is a necessity, but choosing one that fits within already established business processes and communicates threats in a way that the least tech-savvy staff can understand is important. For businesses looking for an established name that can deliver some of the best in the business without the costs, McAfee is a solid option.