With the increased sophistication of cyber threats, the volume of threats and the need for 24/7 monitoring has made automation through artificial intelligence a strategic imperative for service providers. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the need to streamline operations, reduce inefficiencies, and improve client satisfaction. Today, automated platforms can generate policies tailored to a given client’s needs that follow widely accepted frameworks such as NIST and ISO. This new way of thinking reshapes the marketplace for conducting and managing cybersecurity assessments.
The need for automation is further highlighted by the massive amount of time that could be saved. Where traditional assessments would have taken four to five months from initial application to final draft, automation has cut that process down to a one-month turnaround. This new-found operational efficiency doesn’t just increase earnings, it is directly benefiting revenue generation and improving client experience to win and retain customers.
The Impact of Time Delays on Client Satisfaction
Time delays are a significant hurdle in the cybersecurity service industry. Long assessment turnaround times can reduce client satisfaction and increase revenue cycle lag. Quality delays ultimately make it impossible for service providers to deliver on client expectations. This creates a huge risk of frustrating the developer and possibly losing the developer’s business.
Automation addresses these concerns effectively. By streamlining the evaluation process, providers of service can better serve their clientele and be more responsive to their needs. As Steve Bowman, Business Partner at Model Technology Solutions, points out, “When we started, it was four or five months before I’d have somebody doing an assessment on their own. Now it’s down to one month.” This radical shrinkage in time doesn’t only signify an interesting operational efficiency; it creates stronger relationships with clients.
Timely assessments help facilitate a more rapid onboarding process to new clients. This is empowering organizations to capture revenue opportunities that they would have otherwise left on the table. By cutting wait times, companies will be able to improve their ability to capitalize on upselling more value-added services, making them more competitive in the long run.
Addressing Inconsistencies and Talent Inefficiencies
Lack of standardization across assessments and documentation can erode confidence between direct service providers and the clients they serve. Clients are skeptical about the accuracy of the service when they start seeing inconsistent results. On top of this, poor and confusing documentation can add to their frustrations. This is where automation becomes key, helping to standardize assessments and promote consistency in output.
Automating the framework mapping process, while not foolproof, saves considerable amounts of labor and helps prevent human error. In doing so, such organizations can drastically improve the accuracy of their assessments. This moment-to-moment consistency does two important things – it helps develop trust between traveler and algorithm, and it lends credence to the initiative’s credibility.
Still more talent inefficiency is created by letting senior staff devote precious time to administrative bottlenecks instead of driving strategy. Automation handles tedious activities such as managing onboarding and ongoing assessments. That frees up senior staff to leverage their skills and talents on higher value, more strategic work. This change drives increased productivity and provides organizations with the opportunity to deploy their talent more efficiently.
Enhancing Service Customization Through Automation
Customer tailoring is critical for addressing clients’ multifaceted needs but manual tweaks lead to a lack of standardization and less repeatability. Innovation Automation is the answer, providing a balance by making many aspects of personalization consistent while maintaining the ability to create something unique, when it counts.
Tasks that previously averaged more than 13 hours each can now be done in a few hours. This nets you almost 10 hours back per task, which you can then use to funnel into other essential spaces and work. This remarkable efficiency allows service providers to deliver better service without compromising on quality.
Automation enables easy and streamlined management of and reporting on remediation progress, something incredibly difficult to scale and standardize through traditional means. With a major automation benefit being clear and consistent reporting, agencies with automation can better keep track of their progress and keep their clients in the know.