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In today’s increasingly digital business environment, small to medium businesses (SMEs) face significant challenges in managing their IT systems securely and effectively. Maintaining strong technical governance is essential for protecting business operations, data, and infrastructure. However, limited resources and technical expertise often make it difficult for SMEs to achieve robust governance, especially in the face of evolving cyber threats and compliance requirements.
One way that SMEs can enhance their technical governance is by partnering with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) like NexSync. An MSP can provide the tools, expertise, and strategic support necessary to align a business's technology framework with best practices, including the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) Essential Eight and the 27 Mitigation Strategies to Protect Systems. These strategies are designed to defend against cyber-attacks and strengthen an organisation’s IT governance.
Technical governance refers to the processes, policies, and standards that guide the management and security of an organisation’s IT infrastructure. It includes everything from cybersecurity practices, data management, and IT system oversight to regulatory compliance and change management.
For SMEs, strong technical governance is crucial as it:
The Australian Cyber Security Centre's Essential Eight and 27 Mitigation Strategies are widely recognised frameworks designed to improve the resilience of businesses to cyber threats. The Essential Eight consists of foundational strategies that reduce the risk of cyberattacks, while the broader 27 strategies extend protection across various aspects of IT governance.
The Essential Eight includes the following core mitigation strategies:
The 27 Mitigation Strategies extend the protection by addressing other critical areas, such as network security, endpoint protection, and incident response, all contributing to better technical governance.
Partnering with a Managed Service Provider like NexSync enables SMEs to strengthen their technical governance in line with frameworks like the ACSC Essential Eight and the 27 Mitigation Strategies. Here’s how an MSP can help:
An MSP proactively implements and monitors the Essential Eight strategies, ensuring your business is protected from cyber threats. This includes application control, patching, and multi-factor authentication, all of which are critical to reducing the risk of cyber incidents.
With a dedicated MSP managing these processes, SMEs benefit from continuous monitoring, detection, and response to threats, mitigating the risk of data breaches, ransomware, or system compromises.
Adhering to the ACSC’s mitigation strategies also supports compliance with local and international regulations such as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Australian Privacy Act or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). MSPs ensure your business complies with these standards by implementing the necessary technical controls and maintaining up-to-date documentation and reporting practices.
By partnering with an MSP, your business can avoid potential fines, legal liabilities, and reputational damage from non-compliance.
An MSP ensures your IT systems are aligned with best practice frameworks, providing scalable and secure infrastructure that can grow with your business. Whether you need to upgrade software, implement user application hardening, or restrict administrative privileges, an MSP can manage these tasks efficiently while ensuring that your business continues to follow the Essential Eight guidelines.
This scalable approach means that your IT infrastructure is flexible enough to meet your current needs while also future-proofing your business.
Backing up data daily is one of the Essential Eight strategies, and an MSP can manage this process to ensure your critical business data is regularly and securely backed up. In the event of a cyberattack, system failure, or natural disaster, your business can recover quickly and minimise downtime.
Disaster recovery planning is an essential component of technical governance, and MSPs like NexSync implement comprehensive backup and recovery strategies to protect your organisation’s data and operational continuity.
MSPs provide ongoing monitoring, ensuring that all aspects of the Essential Eight and 27 Mitigation Strategies are implemented and adhered to. Regular assessments and audits by NexSync help identify areas for improvement and optimise your technical governance over time.
Additionally, MSPs provide strategic consulting to ensure that your IT governance evolves with changes in technology, business objectives, and the cyber threat landscape.
For small to medium businesses, strong technical governance is essential for protecting against cyber threats, ensuring compliance, and maintaining operational efficiency. However, SMEs often lack the internal resources or expertise to effectively implement robust governance frameworks such as the ACSC Essential Eight and 27 Mitigation Strategies.
Partnering with a Managed Service Provider like NexSync allows SMEs to strengthen their technical governance by leveraging expert support in cybersecurity, compliance, and IT infrastructure management. By following best practices outlined by the ACSC, businesses can reduce risks, improve resilience, and focus on growth.
Contact NexSync today to learn how we can help your business enhance its technical governance and achieve a secure, digitally resilient future.
Partnering with a Managed Service Provider like NexSync allows SMEs to strengthen their technical governance by leveraging expert support in cybersecurity, compliance, and IT infrastructure management. By following best practices outlined by the ACSC, businesses can reduce risks, improve resilience, and focus on growth.
In today’s increasingly digital business environment, small to medium businesses (SMEs) face significant challenges in managing their IT systems securely and effectively.
