IT Consultants Look at the Big Picture

ByDaniel Gottilla

IT Consultants Look at the Big Picture

If you’re a large corporation or a company with a strong technology focus, hiring an IT consultant might seem like a wasted expense. After all, you’ve got all the experience and training you need to implement an effective vulnerability management plan right on site.

However, one of the drawbacks of relying on your own expertise to tackle all your information security needs is that you often bypass one of the most important steps in vulnerability management: looking at the big picture.

Your business is an organic, flexible entity that grows and changes. Because IT provides much of the backbone of the business, it’s important that it remains organic and flexible, as well. Part of doing this means being able to assess what types of vulnerability issues pose a threat beyond the immediate and obvious security issues: you need to be able to make assessments based on the future of your organization and the nature of information technology as it stands both today and tomorrow.

For example, most businesses will prioritize vulnerability issues based on immediacy: which ones are the most important for safety issues right now. While this is going to be a good idea nine times out of ten, there are situations in which keeping all your focus in one area is going to adversely affect your business operations.

Most of the time, companies have to keep in mind such issues as federal compliance issues, threat relevance, business value, exploitability, and impact. Many of these issues can be found on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) scale.

An IT consultant helps by creating a number of what-if scenarios for you. This way, instead of following a rote chart of immediacy, you’re keeping practical business solutions into mind. You can weight the pros and cons of all your options so that your resources are being put to use in the best way possible.