Quality versus Quantity
By Daniel Cuthbert, June 16th, 2009.
Many companies have seen a reduced IT budget for the forthcoming financial year. Whilst this is an indication of the tough economic times being faced by many in the United Kingdom, it doesn’t have to mean that security should suffer.
The UK has many companies offering security related services or products. In past years, we have seen an influx of companies offering a gamut of security related services from architecture to penetration testing. The different lies in the experience of the consultancy team delivering the services.
Whilst it might be attractive in this time of economic downturn to look at a cheaper external partner to help deliver the same high level of security, this could prove more expensive in the long-term.
A consultancy’s best asset is its staff. A good consultant knows how to perform the task at hand to the best possibly ability and draw on previous experience. A not so experienced consultant might take longer to perform the task, or miss critical issues when delivering the service. All these could leave your company vulnerable to security issues, or add additional cost to the project.
When choosing a 3rd party consultancy to help you with a project, don’t always go on the day rate. Look at who is part of the team and how much experience they have. Ask questions about what experience they might be able to bring to your project in order to keep the costs down and yet still deliver the level of security you require.
In tough times, cheaper doesn’t always mean better, especially when it comes to service delivery.
