More firms looking to managed services, report says

A growing number of businesses in the US and Europe are turning to managed services as a way of managing IT security threats.

This is according to a new survey by Symantec, which found that 61 per cent of firms are now looking to implement managed security services due to the fact that cyber risks and actual attacks have risen significantly in the last two years.

Symantec also noted that 98 per cent of respondents said they had suffered from a tangible loss as a result of such security risks and that 49 per cent reported staffing issues when it came to managing their IT security operations.

"Managed security services provide a way for many organisations to close the gap and ensure that their information and assets are protected," commented Grant Geyer, vice-president of managed services at Symantec.

According to IDC, the western European market for IT services - potentially including managed services such as web hosting - will expand by 4.1 per cent in the next five years.

Written by Dipika Patel