As we enter National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it is hard to escape the conclusion that cybersecurity has never been more important — or more difficult.

Threats are growing more frequent, sophisticated and costly. Data, devices and other assets keep moving beyond the reach of network perimeter defenses.

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To one degree or another, almost every business today is dependent upon technology. While smaller organizations may not require enterprise-class systems and platforms, they almost certainly are using communication and collaboration tools, networked computers, cloud services and a variety of applications.

The break/fix approach was once the standard model for acquiring IT support. When a company needed computer repairs, network tuning, printer support or any other form of tech-related service, they engaged a solution provider on a straightforward fee-for-service basis and paid the bill once the work was completed.

By some estimates, more than two-thirds of all businesses in the U.S. work with a managed services provider (MSP) to improve the efficiency, reliability and security of their critical IT operations. As technology environments become more complex, the demand for these services continues to build — analysts are predicting the market will grow by nearly 75 percent over the next five years.

The pandemic has forced organizations to rapidly implement remote work strategies in order to sustain operations. The transition has largely been successful thanks to an array of cloud-based applications, collaboration tools and remote access technologies.

When it comes to IT infrastructure and network reliability, there’s really only one performance metric that matters to your employees and customers: Is it working? IT managers, analysts and support specialists understand there’s not always a simple yes or no answer.

The answer to this question depends upon who you ask. If you ask a vendor who claims to be a managed services provider (MSP), there’s a good chance the definition you hear will sound exactly the same as that vendor’s marketing materials.

If you ask the average small to midsize business owner or IT manager, their definition of managed services will probably sound a lot like the traditional break-fix model of IT support.

Without access to business applications, data and cloud resources, many organizations can’t function. In a best-case scenario, operations are severely limited, which results in low productivity, missed deadlines, lost sales, a poor customer experience and high mitigation costs.

When it comes to performing day-to-day functions, serving customers, operating efficiently, and maintaining a high level of productivity, most small to midsize businesses (SMBs) are as reliant upon IT systems as large enterprises. If servers crash, applications stop working or slow down, or employees can’t access network resources, SMBs lose money and are forced to play catch-up.

Although it was written more than 2,000 years ago, Aesop’s fable of the boy who cried wolf serves as a cautionary tale for the modern information security professional. When security alerts become too frequent, people will eventually stop paying attention.