If your business handles sensitive financial information for your company and your clients, you may be considering hiring a third-party provider to watch over the security of your system. However, you may be unsure as to where to start when attempting to find the right provider for your company. If so, ask the following questions to get you started when hiring a managed IT security provider for your business.

Do They Have Other Clients in Businesses Similar to Yours?

One question you can ask a potential managed security provider is about the businesses of their other clientele. Do they seem to cater to businesses that are similar to yours? Or, do they have little experience dealing with the types of information you handle?

When you hire a managed IT security provider, you want to have a company that has experience with the types of information you store and process each day. Having this experience allows them to recognize common threats that are often associated with your business, such as someone trying to hack into your customers' banking information.

What Types of Service Levels Do They Provide?

Another thing you will want to find out before hiring a provider concerns the types of service levels they provide. Do they monitor your system twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to watch for any unusual behavior, or do they only respond when an alert sounds indicating an intrusion into the system?

If your business processes massive amounts of information, you may prefer to have constant monitoring to make sure that no one can illegally make it into your system and access the information. However, if you have a smaller company, instant response may be more appropriate for the smaller amounts of information.

As part of their service, you should also ask about the accessibility of speaking with a live person whenever you or someone in your business suspects a security issue. Ideally, you should be able to reach an IT professional during your business hours without having to wait for a response.

Asking the above questions can help get you started researching providers so you can find one who will manage your business's information security. As you speak with each potential managed IT security provider, write down additional questions that come to mind during your conversations so that you can have all the information you need when making a decision as to which one you wish to hire.