Many healthcare providers lack the impetus to maintain credentialed staff and resources in-house to secure their data. That’s no surprise, given the average cost of hiring a security specialist is a steep $111,052. That’s where MSSP pricing starts to look very attractive and why many practices turn to managed services to stay on top of their cybersecurity.
So how much should you spend, and which pricing model is best for your practice?
MSSP Pricing: It’s a Lot Less Than Paying Hackers’ Ransom
Patients’ personal information can earn hackers between $250-1,000 for a single record, by far the most valuable information records on the black market. Worse still, they can hold the data at (virtual) gunpoint, and many companies are willing to pay the ransom to avoid heavy fines and public relations nightmares.
Because this data is so lucrative, hackers are willing to spend time and resources to access your network. Basic data security measures, such as anti-virus software, firewalls, and spam filtering, simply don’t cut it anymore.
| How Much Can You Save With an MSSP? Book a free 30-minute consultation and find out how much we’ll help you cut cybersecurity costs. |
Managed Security Services Pricing
Choosing the right managed security services pricing model for your business depends on several factors, such as:
- Number of users you have
- Number of devices connected to your network
- Level of monitoring you require,
- Services included
Here are some of the most common MSSP arrangements:
Per-Device Pricing
Generally, each type of device will have a different cost associated with it, so you may not pay the same price for a printer as you would a laptop. These models will typically have discount tiers, so you can save money as you add more devices. If you’re looking for an option to scale quickly, this is a solid bet. Pricing can range anywhere from $10-250 per device.
Per-User Pricing
A single employee may use multiple devices throughout the day to get the job done. Per-user pricing is a cost-saving strategy when you have limited employees but need to protect multiple entry points. A typical cost may be $150-200 for each user per month but can vary widely depending on service level and the type of business they serve.
Tier-Based Pricing
Service tiers charge a flat fee, and each level of service offers more extensive care. These are typical “All-in-One” approaches that combine cybersecurity, maintenance, monitoring, and support. Higher tiers may extend benefits to round-the-clock monitoring, cloud infrastructure management, for example.
Tier-based pricing often costs $100-300 per user. If a company offers this pricing model, you need to determine your needs before looking at the cost. Saving money on your IT budget isn’t worth the cost of a healthcare breach.
Pick and Choose Pricing
Some MSSPs (like True North) allow you to select the products and services your company needs and skip the ones you don’t. This pricing method is popular with businesses looking for support services to augment their in-house staff.
If you choose this method, it’s crucial to understand how your MSSP will support your team, and make sure your staff has the security operations under control where they don’t.
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Additional Costs
Just like any service, some costs will fall outside the scope of your arrangement. Onboarding fees or charges for cybersecurity audits aren’t unusual. Some projects will cost extra. If you’re converting to a new EMR, upgrading your services, or buying new devices, you should ask about pricing first.
Take the time to speak with your MSSP provider to find out what projects will fall outside the scope of your agreement so you can keep the room in your budget for additional charges.
MSSP Pricing: What Are You Getting for Your Money?
As we mentioned, the basics aren’t going to protect your healthcare data for long. An MSSP will proactively monitor the threat landscape, identify risks, and implement the best solutions before your network is breached. Inclusive cybersecurity arrangements for healthcare practices can provide:
- Vulnerability assessment
- Penetration testing
- Employee training
- Software and hardware implementation
- HIPAA compliance auditing
- Security strategy development
- IT infrastructure reviews
- 24/7 monitoring services
A managed security service provider can help you implement and maintain better, more efficient IT infrastructure to keep your systems operating at peak performance. That can mean faster access to your data, secure backups, and disaster recovery plans to ensure continuity in worst-case scenarios.
MSSP Pricing: Don’t Pay More Than You Need To
True North empowers healthcare providers to do more with cutting-edge IT solutions and advanced security. With over 40 years of experience in the healthcare industry, we can offer proven solutions to protect your patient’s information and optimize your systems to run smoothly, with an uptime of 99.999%.
Book a free 30-minute consultation to find out how much we can help you reduce IT costs and enhance security organization-wide.
