Cox Business on Wednesday released new findings from a survey of 500 US-based small business owners. The report titled 'The IT Factor: Cox Small Business Pulse on Managed IT Service' reveal that while cyber security threats are on the rise, managed IT services make small business owners highly confident they can navigate these risks.
Cyber security is a top motivator for businesses investing in managed IT. Forty-two percent of business owners prefer to outsource. Forty-two percent of respondents also dread device viruses, 38% worry about back-up and disaster recovery and 35% fear phishing attacks.
Forty-two percent invest in managed IT services for their business. Of that group, 71% will invest more this year than they did in 2022.
Cloud services is the most beneficial managed IT offering, beyond cyber security according to business owners. Of those using cloud services today (desktop as a service, migration, monitoring or infrastructure as a service), 84% feel more confident in their company's network and 86% more confident in data storage.
The survey showed 74% of those with managed IT services feel "confident" or "extremely confident" in their company's ability to navigate cyber security because of that support.
Jeff Breaux, Executive Vice President, Cox Business
The reality is small businesses are the biggest target for cyber security bad actors. It is far less expensive to protect against threats than to react after the fact. Managed IT solutions are gaining traction among small businesses as they experience the value of cost and time savings first-hand, yet there are still educational opportunities to dispel common misconceptions. Some business owners pushing off managed IT solutions believe their business is too small or the investment is too costly. Even putting cyber security risks aside, with the right partner, managed IT solutions help small businesses unlock ways to improve operational efficiency, clearing the path to accelerate scale and growth.
