Why You Should Work with an MSP That Offers NIST 800–171 Compliance Certification

Today, it’s harder than ever to keep up with evolving standards and regulations for data security.

The consequences for not maintaining compliance can be detrimental to your business. In fact, companies can lose an average of $5.47 million in revenue due to a single non-compliance event.

To maintain compliance, many businesses are turning to managed service providers (MSPs) that offer NIST 800–171 compliance certification. By working with a reliable MSP that provides this service, you can build a cybersecurity infrastructure that supports data protection.

What Is NIST 800–171 Compliance? 

NIST 800–171 is a set of security requirements established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that companies must meet. These requirements were designed with the goal of protecting controlled unclassified information (CUI). 

Any company working with government data, such as contractors or subcontractors, must comply with these requirements to protect the data they are handling.

The specific requirements cover topics like user access and management, data storage and transmission, system maintenance, and incident response.

What Value Does NIST 800–171 Bring to a Private Business?

Even if your business isn’t legally obligated to comply with NIST 800–171, there are still significant benefits to working towards certification. For example, being certified can improve customer trust and help when getting cyber insurance.

Additionally, achieving compliance can increase efficiency and provide better financial protection for your business if you experience a data breach or other cybersecurity incident. 

Meeting NIST 800–171 requirements is not easy. The process is rigorous and requires a business to revamp their entire security strategy. However, strengthening your cybersecurity using NIST could mean your business is an impenetrable fortress against cyberattacks.

4 Benefits of Working with an MSP Who Offers a NIST 800–171 Compliance Certification

Working with an MSP that offers NIST 800–171 certification can help your business reach its full potential. Here are a few of the benefits of working with a trusted MSP:

1. Assurance That Your Infrastructure Supports Data Protection

When you partner with an MSP to ensure NIST 800–171 compliance, you have security protocols that are up to standard. Your security won’t be subpar, rather it will follow standards that security experts have researched and worked to create. Plus, you will have NIST certification documents as proof that your business is secure.

2. Increased Customer Trust

By being able to prove that you’re compliant and secure with a certification, your customers will be more likely to trust in the reliability of your services. After all, it takes a great deal of trust for customers to provide their information to any business. 

Additionally, certification can make it much easier for your business to qualify for one of the most difficult types of insurance to obtain: cyber insurance.

3. Better Financial Protection

NIST 800–171 compliance helps protect you from costly downtimes and possible litigation associated with data breaches. Businesses that follow NIST regulations can prove that their business has done everything they can to protect data—you’ll be in a better position overall to take action if an incident should occur, which could significantly reduce the cost of data breach.

4. Increased Efficiency

By working towards compliance, you are taking steps to make sure your cybersecurity systems and processes meet or exceed the standards set by the government. This can help reduce the time spent on security-related tasks and free up resources to focus on other areas of the business.

Secure Compliance Certification with Envision Consulting

Come partner with Envision Consulting to help your business reach full data security compliance. Our team of experts will work with you every step of the way, from risk assessment to certification. In addition to NIST certification, we also offer cybersecurity framework (CSF) consulting to ensure that your business is compliant all the way through.

Set up a meeting with a dedicated IT expert today to learn more about how we can help your business achieve NIST 800–171 compliance.