If you’re like many businesses today, there’s a good chance you’ve made this one mistake with your IT security: you don’t budget for it.

Or if you do budget for it, it’s not enough to really protect your business.

Time and time again, business owners decide NOT to invest in IT services. Instead, they go it alone or skip it completely.

Or they might approach an IT services company and ask, “What do you charge for your services?” They don’t ask, “What will I get for my money?” or “How can you meet the needs of my company?” This is a backward approach to IT – and it’s a big mistake.

The fact is that a lot of business owners don’t take IT seriously. They think that because they haven’t been hit by a data breach or a malware attack that it will never happen to them. That’s another big mistake. Just because a business hasn’t fallen victim to a cyber-attack DOES NOT mean they’re safe.

It’s the opposite.

When you hire an IT services company, what do you get for your money?

The honest answer is that it depends on your specific needs. Many IT services companies offer everything from basic to advanced network security. You can expect services like:

• Cloud backup
• Data protection
• Data monitoring
• Threat detection
• Technology maintenance
• And more!

Everything is designed to protect you, your network, your technology, your employees and your business as a whole. It’s all about giving you the information and resources you need so you can worry less about outside threats and focus on your customers and the success of your business.

When you’re invested in good IT security, you shouldn’t even know it’s there. It runs in the background like a quiet but powerful electric motor. It’s there when you need it, and it’s there when you’re not even thinking about it.

For some business owners, this is a tough pill to swallow. They don’t have something tangible in front of them that they can see 24/7. A lot of business owners like to be more hands-on. They like to see what their money is buying.

The great thing is that a good IT services company will provide you with something tangible. If you want to see what is going on behind the scenes of your IT security, they will give you a complete report. Every day (or week or month), you can have an e-mail delivered to your in-box that breaks down exactly what your IT services firm is doing for you.

You can see things like the threats they blocked from getting through. You can see when they performed system maintenance or when your data was backed up. You can customize these reports to your needs. Basically, you can see what you’re paying for and how it’s working. This is the very definition of “peace of mind.”

Today, none of us can afford to skip out on good IT security. We can’t wait to react until something happens. Because when something does happen, it’s often too late. The cybercriminals have done their damage and moved on. Meanwhile, your business comes to a screeching halt, and you have to pay the big bucks to get everything back on track – if you can get back on track.

Some businesses don’t get back on track.  They are forced to close after a cyber-attack because they don’t have the money or resources to recover. The damage is simply too much and the cost too high. If they had invested in IT security upfront, it might be a different story.

Don’t get caught off guard by a data breach, malware infection, hacker attack or data loss due to technology failure or natural causes like flood or fire. It’s time to take your IT to the next level. Protect your business the right way and avoid the mistake so many others make when they avoid the investment in good IT.

Work with an IT services firm that takes your business as seriously as you do.