Let’s run through a scenario for a moment. Say that you own a company that does IT for other businesses. IT stands for information technology. IT companies often install and maintain computer systems for other businesses, particularly ones that don’t have their own IT staff.
Your IT company does computer and technology-related work for your clients. When a client tells you they want you to do something, you do it. However, your clients might also rely on you to advise them regarding anything IT-related.
You might feel like the zero-trust model is a great thing for a client to implement, and you advise them to do that. They may feel a little hesitant, though, because they don’t understand it or what it does.
This article will explain how you can convince a client they need to install the zero-trust model for their computer network.
What is the Zero-Trust Model?
The first thing you’ll need to do is explain to your client what the zero-trust model does. The zero-trust model is a security protocol that you can install to protect your computer network. It confirms the identity of every entity that tries to interact with it.
The zero-trust model matters because if a fraudulent or malicious entity tries to communicate with your client’s computer network, and you don’t have this model in place, it can crash that network or steal sensitive information. The real question is how you can convince a client they need to install it if they know virtually nothing about IT and computer systems.
Appeal to Their Wallet
Security breaches can cost clients $200,000 on average. If you’re having difficulty convincing a client to set up the zero-trust model, this is probably the first fact you need to mention to them.
You might wonder why a client wouldn’t want to install the zero-trust model if you tell them about it.
The reason is that setting it up costs money. They might balk at the price tag if you tell them how much it will cost to set up this system for their interoffice communications.
It’s true that a client might not like to hear about the upfront price, but if you tell them how much security breaches cost, that might convince them they need to secure their network. You can try to explain that in this area, safe is certainly better than sorry.
You Can Show Them Specific Examples
Some clients feel like security breaches won’t happen to them. Maybe they have a smaller company, and they don’t think they’re a tempting target.
You can show them many specific examples of hackers targeting companies that didn’t have the zero-trust security model and wreaking havoc. Hackers do go after big companies like Target and Bank of America, and you can easily find news stories that talk about that. However, hackers also target smaller companies all the time.
A company’s size has little to do with whether a hacker will target it. If you can get a client to understand that, it might convince them that they should pay for the zero-trust model.
You Can Explain What a Breach Does to Employee and Customer Confidence
Most clients will respond when you appeal to their wallet, and others may agree to go with the zero-trust model if you convince them that a hacker is just as likely to target their small company. If that won’t do it, though, you can talk to them about what a potential hacker breach does to workers and customer confidence.
Customers want to trust a company if they’re giving them their business. If you go on a company’s website, you want to trust them if you’re giving up your credit card number, home address, email address, etc.
If a potential customer hears that a hacker compromised your computer network, or you let a data breach happen because you didn’t have the proper security in place, they will likely go with a competitor instead. Any client has competitors, and a data breach will scare away a lot of their potential business.
A company’s workers won’t want to hear about data breaches, either. They might quit the company if they feel they can’t trust their employer with their personal data, like their bank account routing numbers, if your client pays its workers using the direct deposit system.
Telling them that the zero-trust model can prevent these issues might be what it takes to get them to go along with it.
