How secure is your service business? Every business should set time aside for security budget planning each year. Many companies overlook a security budget’s importance and benefits, opting instead to only plan for other pressing short-term needs.
However, this budget can help reinforce your company’s resiliency in the face of uncertainty.
We’ll cover the following key areas in this article:
- Why it’s important to set a security budget
- Which security budget factors to consider
- Reasons for security budget planning
Why a Security Budget Is Important
When you don’t set aside resources for a security budget, you’re doing a disservice to your employees and customers. Also, you have a chance of exposing sensitive company, employee and customer data, as well as company assets and monetary loss.
That might sound scary – but all of this can be easily avoided!
Investing in your business’ security simply means you are taking the initiative to keep the company, employees and customers safe.
Security Budget Factors to Consider
There are two key factors to consider during security budget planning:
Physical Security
Every company’s security budget should account for physical security threats, such as break-ins, employee safety and onsite accidents. A security budget can be used to allocate funds for access-control systems, insurance, surveillance devices, commercial door locks and other tangible assets.
Make sure you are budgeting for robust insurance/coverage plans that include everything that you need.
Cybersecurity
Your business must consider intrusions beyond physical security. A comprehensive security system will factor in cybersecurity – covering the protection of Wi-Fi networks, hardware, software as well as company and customer data.
A data breach at Target in 2013 was the result of login credentials stolen from the HVAC company that was monitoring the Target heating and cooling systems. It resulted in stolen information from 40 million debit and credit cards.
So how can you ensure your HVAC or service business is up to date with security? Two things you must do are:
- Properly screen employees
- Maintain secure data systems and practices
If you aren’t already, consider operating your business on a secure cloud-based system. Field service software, like FieldEdge, can help business owners rest easy, knowing all the company’s data is super secure and easily retrievable anywhere with a signal.
Reasons for Security Budget Planning
Saves Money
The main reason for a security budget is to save the company money. How? Because a security budget allows companies to set clearly defined goals and protects against risks, wasting less money and time.
By identifying specific security costs and allocating a set amount of money to each goal, companies minimize the risk of wasting money across an entire year. After all, prevention is cheaper than dealing with a break in or data breach.
Secures Assets
Asset management is necessary for every business. With a security budget in place, there is a framework to allocate security resources to protect important assets. Also, it allows companies to find any existing security flaws that could easily be overlooked.
For the field service industry, critical business assets could include:
- Employees
- Company data
- Tools and equipment
- Service trucks
- Warehouses
- Tax information
- Inventory
It is useful to set aside money in the inventory budget to replace old parts or understocked items to ensure safer installs. Also, make sure your property is insured with an appropriate policy.
Set aside a portion of your budget to make any updates or repairs needed throughout the year to keep your warehouse up to code.
A good first step in security budget planning is creating a list of additional business assets that need coverage. Then consider each of them within annual budgets.
Reserves Resources for Security Upgrades
A security budget isn’t set in stone — it will continuously need to be revisited over time. With a budget in place, businesses can set aside funds to allow for upgrades or replacements to assets when necessary.
As a result, security protocols will be able to function properly throughout the year, and if a particular protocol does fail, the allocated budget will be there to cover it.
Also, don’t forget to do a thorough re-evaluation of your budget every year! A lot can change in a business, and you might have more areas that need coverage for next year.
Helps During Emergencies
The benefit of security budget planning is that it allows companies to prepare for emergencies. It works hand-in-hand with your business emergency plan.
It’s important to note that emergencies are hard to predict, but pre-planned resources make it easier to help during the unexpected.
However, not having a security budget in place can leave your business vulnerable in the event of an emergency. You don’t want to risk your physical and digital assets falling into the wrong hands during confusion.
For example, say an earthquake or tornado damages your supply house. With this budget and plan in place, you’ve already allocated funds and a plan to begin replacing your most necessary tools, equipment and inventory.
However, without a budget or adequate insurance in place, funds will have to be reallocated or cut from other budgets, affecting the overall business and current priorities.
Begin Your Security Budget Planning Now
Understand that security is directly proportional to a company’s success, efficiency and safety. By providing your field service business with an extensive and robust security framework, your company can run smoothly and prepare for any troubles that may arise along the way.
And consider the benefits of securing your company and customer data with a powerful cloud-based software solution.
FieldEdge can dramatically reduce the stress of securing your company and customer data. Book your FREE personalized demo today!
Lock Down Your Security Budget!
You now have a better idea of the importance of a well thought out security budget, whether it’s physical security or cyber security.
In this post we covered:
- How a security budget minimizes the risk of exposing sensitive data
- Two security budget factors to consider: physical and cyber
- Reasons for security budget planning such as securing assets and saving money
