Not that long ago, small business security meant locking the front door on the way out. Times have changed, and small business owners find themselves needing to address the security of not only their physical property, but also their intellectual property and everything in between.

Some small business owners still believe that they don’t need to worry much about security, thinking who would want to target my business when there are so many bigger targets out there. And while it may be true that small businesses are targeted less frequently than larger businesses, there are still plenty of reasons to be concerned.

Large businesses have more resources to address security and their security is becoming tighter, making small businesses a more tempting target. Low hanging fruit gets picked first. Many online attacks cast a wide net, hoping to catch what they can with a virus or worm. And not all security threats come from outside the office.

Determining whether you decide to handle all of your security needs yourself or hire someone to help may rest on several factors, but it mostly comes down to just a few.

For computer management and security:
Do you have the expertise to do it yourself, or the time to learn? Are there special compliance rules for your industry? There are plenty of resources available online to help you along, but if you are starting from scratch, it’s going to take a while. Microsoft has a guide here that is a good, generic place to start.

For physical document management and security:
Industry compliance is once again an important factor, but space to store all of your records in a way they can be accessed may be the overriding issue. The eventual destruction of these records may also be subject to compliance guidelines. Take a look at some of our services here to get a better idea of what is involved.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Johan Larsson.