Cyber Security for Business in Haverhill

What cyber security for business is

Cyber security for business covers the controls, monitoring and processes that protect your Windows PCs, laptops and Microsoft 365 accounts from attackers. The threats are not limited to large companies. Small businesses are targeted because they often have weaker defences and less time to deal with an incident. Getting the right controls in place before something happens is far less costly than recovering from a breach.

We support Windows and Microsoft 365 environments for businesses in Haverhill and across the area from our base in Bury St Edmunds. We do not cover Apple Mac systems.

Why cost is a reasonable question to start with

Budget is a real constraint for most small businesses, and cyber security spending needs to be proportionate to the risk. The good news is that the controls that address the most serious and common threats are not the most expensive ones. Multi-factor authentication on Microsoft 365 is free to enable. Keeping Windows updated is part of good IT maintenance. The cost of cyber security for a small business is largely the cost of having someone make sure the right things are consistently in place - and that is where a managed IT support contract is relevant.

What drives the cost of a managed cyber security setup

Several factors affect what a business will pay for managed IT support that includes cyber security.

Number of computers. Managed support contracts are priced per computer per month. The more machines you have, the higher the total monthly cost - but the per-machine rate falls as numbers increase, so the cost per machine for a ten-computer office is meaningfully lower than for a one-computer setup. This reflects the efficiency of managing a larger, consistent environment.

Level of service. There is a practical difference between a contract that covers remote and phone support with on-site visits charged separately, and one that includes on-site labour and call-outs in the monthly fee. If your team or your work relies heavily on machines being physically attended to when something goes wrong, the all-in contract level is usually better value, even if the headline monthly cost is higher.

How current your systems are. A business running up-to-date Windows versions on well-maintained machines takes less work to secure and support than one where machines have been left unmanaged for years. Older, neglected systems can carry a higher initial setup cost because more work is needed to bring them to a secure baseline before ongoing management makes sense.

What your Microsoft 365 licences include. Different Microsoft 365 plans include different levels of built-in security. A business on a basic plan may need additional tools or licences to get to a properly protected state. A business on a more complete plan may already have the tools available - they just need enabling and configuring correctly. The licence level affects what work is needed and therefore what it costs.

Staff count and account management. The more Microsoft 365 accounts in use, the more accounts need MFA enabled, access reviewed and monitoring applied. A ten-person business with ten accounts is not dramatically more complex than a five-person one, but a fifty-account environment is meaningfully different in terms of management overhead.

Whether backups need restructuring. If a business has no reliable backup in place, or one that has been failing silently, setting up a proper backup regime carries a one-off cost before the ongoing monitoring takes over. The cost of setting up a tested, properly configured backup is always less than the cost of recovering data that was never backed up.

What brings the cost down

Businesses that have kept their Windows machines updated, have Microsoft 365 already in use, and have not accumulated years of unmanaged complexity are genuinely cheaper to support. A tidy, consistent environment takes less time to manage. Choosing remote support for most issues rather than calling for on-site visits also keeps costs lower - most security and software issues can be resolved remotely.

A pre-paid block of time rather than a monthly contract suits some businesses, particularly those that want monitoring included but do not need frequent support. These blocks give priority service and monthly monitoring without a recurring commitment.

Real prices for our managed support contracts

All prices exclude VAT. Contracts are billed per computer per month, not per user.

Business Essentials - includes unlimited remote and phone support during office hours, with Windows updates, backups and security monitoring included. On-site visits charged separately at £60 call-out plus labour.

• 1 computer: £36 per month
• 2-3 computers: £31.20 each per month
• 4-9 computers: £25.20 each per month
• 10-17 computers: £22.20 each per month
• 18 or more computers: £21.60 each per month

Business Premium - includes everything in Business Essentials plus on-site labour and call-outs in the monthly fee. No separate charges when a visit is needed.

• 1 computer: £54 per month
• 2-3 computers: £42 each per month
• 4-6 computers: £38.60 each per month
• 7-9 computers: £33.80 each per month
• 10-12 computers: £31.20 each per month
• 13-15 computers: £28.40 each per month
• 16-19 computers: £25.40 each per month
• 20 or more computers: £24.40 each per month

Pre-paid time blocks - each includes monthly monitoring and priority service, valid for up to six months.

• 4 hours: £312
• 8 hours: £592
• 16 hours: £1,123

A managed email service is also available. Pricing is quoted on request.

What you get for that cost

A managed support contract is not just a helpdesk. Security monitoring means someone is checking that your endpoint protection is active, that updates are being applied, and that backups are completing. If something looks wrong, it gets addressed before it becomes a problem you notice. For most small businesses, this is the most cost-effective way to maintain a consistently secure setup without needing in-house IT staff.

The alternative - paying for support only when something goes wrong - tends to cost more over time and leaves gaps. A machine that has not been updated for four months because there was no one checking it is a machine that has been vulnerable for four months.

What cyber security for business actually costs - a plain answer

For a Haverhill business with five Windows computers on a Business Essentials contract, the monthly cost is £126 excluding VAT (5 x £25.20). On Business Premium at the same size, it is £193 excluding VAT (5 x £38.60). Those figures include security monitoring, updates and backups. On-site visits are additional on Essentials; included on Premium. That is a realistic cost range for a properly managed, consistently secure small business setup.

Speak to us about your Haverhill business

Call us during office hours to talk through your current setup, what a contract would cost for your specific number of machines, and whether Essentials or Premium is the better fit.