| dc.description.abstract | Outsourcing IT services to a third party is a trend that is becoming more common, and the majority of those who do not, are considering it. By outsourcing these services, companies do not have to take care of IT themselves and can expect that the provider ensures safety in the solutions. But exactly how cybersecurity is influenced by this in Norwegian small and medium-sized companies is the purpose of this qualitative study. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants who had first-hand experience with outsourcing and the potential to provide us with the insight we sought. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel responsible for managing IT in companies with less than 250 employees. Data from the interviews were transcribed and analyzed by using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo 12 Pro. The study found several different ways in which outsourcing influences cybersecurity. The most prominent security benefits that were identified were quality improvement and increased capacity. Loss of data control, communication issues, dependency and supply chain attacks were the main security challenges found in the study. To address these difficulties, mitigation measures such as control competency, contract with SLA, and a focus on business continuity were discovered.
The findings of this study can be used by organizations that consider an outsourcing strategy to be better prepared and make correct choices at an early stage. In addition, it gives companies that already outsource a valuable insight into which measures others have applied to mitigate known challenges.
Keywords: Outsourcing, Small and medium-sized enterprises, Managed service provider, Challenges, Benefits, Mitigation techniques | |
