Guide

Unlock the competitive potential of your professional services business

Managed services can help prepare your network — and your organization — for tomorrow

The U.S. professional services industry includes over 900,000 entities, spanning single- and multi-location firms.¹ Made up of a diverse collection of disciplines, from legal services and consulting firms to logistics and marketing organizations, the size of the U.S. professional services market is forecast to reach $44.5 billion by 2029, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate of over 5%.² Spurred by fierce competition and the impacts of a global pandemic, many businesses have digitized their operations and modernized their networks in recent years or rank these moves among their chief goals going forward.

$44.5B: The forecasted size of the U.S. professional services market by 2029.³

The urgency to modernize makes a great deal of competitive sense. Despite their diversity, professional services organizations have a few things in common: They increasingly need to transfer large data files, oversee external websites and rely on applications to service their customers. They are migrating to the cloud, adapting to remote work scenarios and pursuing new operational efficiencies. These changes are escalating the need for more bandwidth while also creating new challenges, especially with respect to security, innovation and performance.

Valuable data means increased exposure to threats

Professional services businesses regularly work with and store valuable data. From sensitive legal documents to confidential market strategies, the digital information these businesses handle makes them an attractive target for hackers. At the same time, the proliferation of hybrid and remote work has led to increased use of personal devices on the job and a greater reliance on cloud and mobile applications for employees, partners and customers — all of which increases the network threat landscape.

As ways of doing business have become more distributed, valuable data is no longer shielded within private networks. If you don’t take the proper precautions with that data, it could end up in the wrong place. The diffusion of data has vastly increased the potential attack surface, making every network access point a potential security vulnerability. The elevated risk also spotlights the need for companies to adopt strategies and solutions that enable them to easily and reliably meet regulatory requirements.

Keeping up with cloud innovation

Today, approximately half of enterprise workloads run on public cloud infrastructure.⁴ In addition to navigating the security implications of a public or hybrid cloud architecture, professional services organizations understand that they must also improve their cloud application connectivity and performance. They rely on video calling tools, cloud content management platforms, file sharing and other demanding applications that might be straining bandwidth availability. When the performance of these critical tools suffers, so does productivity.

These issues, made more pressing by a fast-moving, competitive marketplace, are significant contributors to 86% of professional services leaders stating that they are likely to adopt digital platforms and apps by 2027.⁵ Leaders are turning to these innovative tools and platforms to power new digital product or service revenue streams that enable them to keep pace with competitors. Further complicating matters, many companies are seeing their budgets shrink and their IT resources become more scarce, even as the need to digitally transform grows more acute.

The demands of enhanced network performance

As professional services operations increase in complexity, companies must simplify and centralize their network management — and they must do so without impacting performance or uptime. This expectation can overload IT employees, who are already managing significant workloads and may struggle to keep their technical skills up to date with evolving digital objectives. As a result, professional services companies need to fill the gap to accelerate network modernization.

57% of workers say cutbacks at their organization put them at moderate or extreme risk of cybersecurity attacks.⁶

Enhanced, low-latency, secure and cost-effective connectivity is a persistent requirement. It means finding new and smarter ways to automate how traffic is delivered. Once a serviceable strategy, backhauling to corporate data centers is no longer a viable solution, as it increases latency and reduces performance. The move to the cloud may also contribute to a slowing in the performance of vital applications, creating unwanted jitter, lag and downtime. Additionally, aging WAN infrastructure may need updates to accommodate traffic from applications hosted outside of a central data center.

Deploy managed solutions with one dedicated partner

As professional services companies address their digital transformations, many are benefiting from the expertise of a managed solutions provider. Research has shown that higher levels of goal achievement tend to correlate with greater use of managed services.⁷ In fact, 45% of companies that claim to be fully achieving their goals point to a reliance on such services.⁸

56% of CEOs see technological shifts driving changes to the way their company creates, delivers and captures value in the next three years.⁹

Spectrum Business® offers a comprehensive portfolio of fully or co-managed technology solutions to help professional services organizations compete and succeed. Solutions, including networking, security, voice, collaboration and TV, are customized to address the unique needs of professional services firms.

Safeguard the business from growing cybercrime

Finding the right partner is never more crucial than when it comes to security. Combating cybercrime and safeguarding people, data and assets is a primary concern for professional services organizations. It is easy to understand why, given that only healthcare and financial services saw more cases of compromised security in 2023.¹⁰ Bad actors know that organizations like law offices and accounting firms hold highly valuable data, including Social Security numbers, nondisclosure agreements and personal financial information.

$5.08M: The average cost per data breach for professional services organizations as of 2024, an increase of 13% over the previous year.¹¹

Meanwhile, a growing number of remote workers and a work-from-anywhere culture continue to put pressure on companies to ensure their dispersed employees can rely on secure application experiences regardless of location. Security processes must be simple to execute, not only to help promote the safety of the organization but also to enable staff to comply with applicable industry regulations.

Bolster protection with managed security services

As professional services organizations move to a cloud-based architecture, their IT teams need a single security policy throughout their distributed environment for threat detection, traffic inspection and user access. Spectrum Business provides secure access service edge (SASE) solutions to make it easier to deliver defense in depth while creating a unified security policy. SASE blends a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), for unified access for branch or remote offices and network controls, and secure service edge (SSE), a cloud-based security platform centered on the identity of users, devices and operations.

Companies can improve security and provide secure remote access to improve flexibility, lessen the burden on IT and reduce total cost of ownership. SASE services can help:

Protect remote network access with zero trust network access (ZTNA).
Guard against malware and data breaches with cloud-based firewalls.
Protect on-premises and remote users with unified threat management (UTM).
Establish secure access to cloud-based applications and protect data with cloud access security brokers (CASBs).

Each SASE service includes professional installation and ongoing updates to our platforms, such as threat definitions, software and firmware, to strengthen the security posture and support resource-constrained IT teams.

Customized managed security solutions help safeguard access to the cloud, networks and applications by users and devices anywhere. Delivered over our internet solutions and powered by Cisco Meraki, our Managed Workplace Package offers a single networking platform solution that leverages Managed Network Edge and addresses legacy WAN needs. It enhances local area networks (LANs) and WAN networking in an integrated solution combining security, visibility and control as well as SD-WAN connectivity and performance. We also help organizations automate protection and governance and satisfy regulatory compliance requirements. In addition, the solution provides end-to-end data encryption, automated updates, an advanced firewall and malware and intrusion protection.

40% of breaches involve data stored across multiple environments.¹²

An all-in-one network platform, Managed Network Edge simplifies customer operations and eliminates ownership of networking equipment. Firms can create a highly efficient network that supports a wide range of traffic and confidently connects multiple buildings or public cloud locations. The solution’s SD-WAN transports data directly from a given office to the cloud, which can:

Shorten transit time and latency.
Reduce overhead.
Eliminate bottlenecks.
Enhance application performance.

Add Unified Communications with RingCentral to further empower professional services teams by enabling them to streamline and secure voice and collaboration across sites. The fully managed, cloud-based communication solution seamlessly brings together calling, messaging and video conferencing in a single platform and strengthens a company’s security posture via regulatory compatibility.

A comprehensive, layered security approach can also help protect people and property. As part of Managed Network Edge, our smart cameras can deliver valuable insights about customer behavior patterns while also protecting vulnerable locations. Our sensors intelligently monitor facilities and other critical physical spaces, alerting staff about potential environmental events.

66% of tech leaders say mitigating cybersecurity risks is one of their business’s highest priorities.¹³

For more complex networking and routing needs, Enterprise Network Edge, powered by Fortinet, can advance performance, network security and control. It improves the network experience and promotes regulatory compliance by combining SD-WAN connectivity, equipment and network management to support both hybrid networks and workforces. It can also simplify IT operations through networking with enterprise security features and optional integrated WiFi and switching in a multi-cloud-ready platform.

Professional services organizations require a centralized, streamlined platform to implement security priorities across every cloud and device. Cloud Security with Cisco+ Secure Connect from Spectrum Business helps defend authorized users and data both in the cloud and on the network. It enables a consistent, universal security experience for remote and office-based workers with solutions designed to mitigate today’s security threats and prepare for tomorrow’s with automated alerts. Capabilities such as ZTNA and cloud-based firewalls enable IT to enforce security measures and device postures for corporate and personal devices. The solution also negates the need for backhauling remote traffic through the corporate WAN to apply security policies at a central gateway, thereby reducing latency and enhancing the user experience. Busy professional services IT administrators can gain immediate visibility across devices, users, network activity and threats, all via a single portal. This improved oversight helps protect against data loss and regulatory violations.

Secure Access with Cisco Duo can help companies integrate and manage their network with on-call support. The fully managed, cloud-based security solution can help protect against unauthorized access to sensitive systems, regulatory issues and potentially disruptive data loss. Secure Access offers professional services organizations an easy-to-use identity management (IdM) platform, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) for user and device validations, which helps streamline policy enforcement for application access and usage — while enabling a consistent, accessible experience for workers, regardless of location. IT teams get a clearer picture of their networks and potential threats via a dashboard, equipping administrators to view and manage access for all users and devices. Secure Access can also help provide consistent, secure authentication, with experts available to guide configuration and provide ongoing maintenance and support.

Spectrum Business provides additional services to fill out a company’s cyberthreat response. Safeguards are available to keep network and web properties available by halting volumetric distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Powered by Radware, our DDoS Protection service helps shield applications and systems by identifying anomalies in traffic flows as well as responding to and mitigating threats.

Improve cloud application performance

Professional services organizations depend on applications that run without interruption. Therefore, companies require technology that can reliably deliver the necessary uptime while also ensuring sufficient data transfer rates for a growing number of bandwidth-hungry applications such as unified communications, file sharing and data storage. Enhanced network availability and steadfast performance are similarly vital, serving as key ingredients to an organization’s reputation and growth. Efforts to address these demands illuminate other needs, including modernizing WAN infrastructures, automating traffic routing and discontinuing the practice of backhauling.

Accelerate digital transformation with enterprise cloud services

Spectrum Business focuses on helping organizations digitally transform, adapt to changing operational demands and prepare for the future. As part of that mission, we can aid companies in taking advantage of the cloud, enabling them to be more agile, scale quickly and compete effectively. Such efforts can alleviate the friction companies may experience when seeking to keep up in an increasingly work-from-anywhere world. We can redesign networks to help optimize distributed offices and storefronts to deliver higher-performing, efficient internet and cloud access. With our managed services and products, professional services organizations can improve internet connectivity and ensure capacity wherever it is needed. They can also retain their existing network and use the SD-WAN to optimize data traffic.

74% of organizations consider digital transformation a top priority.¹⁴

Those same firms can evolve their internet capabilities, with assured performance and exceptional experience all the way into the customer suite, by adopting our internet solutions. Dedicated Fiber Internet keeps up with the high demands of your network when performance or bandwidth is critical. Secure Dedicated Fiber Internet provides seamless, secure and fast dedicated internet with managed cybersecurity. Enterprise Internet delivers fast, reliable and cost-effective internet access for organizations with a single site or those with a large footprint, offering speeds up to 1 Gbps. Wireless Internet can connect your locations quickly and offer additional bandwidth or temporary connectivity. All are supported by optimized service-level agreements (SLAs) that promote predictability and peace of mind.

Simplify network administration

Today’s IT teams are buried in demands that grow more urgent by the day. Many need help to keep pace with an operational environment distinguished by rapidly changing, increasingly complex solutions. Their networks must serve hybrid and remote work models, providing consistently reliable access to the internet and cloud. Moreover, for most professional services organizations, their IT teams are responsible for managing all of the organization’s potentially many locations. This includes finding the time and resources to provision and scale connectivity, install network equipment and conduct reconfigurations and policy updates for network access to applications.

71% of organizations say their network assets are mostly aging or obsolete.¹⁵

Empower IT via managed services

Spectrum Business helps relieve overworked IT staff through customized managed solutions that support the business needs of their professional services organizations. Key among the offerings, our SD-WAN solutions deliver a range of benefits, especially to those businesses with limited IT resources. Advantages include improved agility, better use and allocation of bandwidth, enhanced cost efficiencies and more hands-off management. The system’s portal streamlines complex routing, while its enhanced visibility simplifies efforts to balance and improve traffic performance across sites.

With SD-WAN, companies seeking to simplify network administration can forgo engaging an on-site technician. Instead, the technology provides policy-based remote configuration designed to help move additional locations onto the WAN and establish access to important applications. By simplifying provisioning, visibility and integration, we help companies meet today’s complex, ever-changing IT demands.

Spectrum Business is your national managed services partner

Spectrum Business offers a full range of reliable, secure, high-performance, end-to-end enterprise technology solutions that address the network availability and performance needs of professional services providers. Our solutions drive greater flexibility to help organizations modernize their networks and improve efficiency. We simplify the support of remote employees, address work-from-anywhere needs with secure application experiences and protect networks and sensitive customer data.

Partner with Spectrum Business and we will install and manage the solutions for you, offering an SLA that guarantees 100% uptime all the way to the handoff point in your customer suite* and 100%, 24/7/365 U.S.-based support.

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*100% uptime SLA guarantee applies only to Dedicated Fiber Internet, Secure Dedicated Fiber Internet, Ethernet Services, Cloud Connect and Enterprise Trunking.

1. “Professional Services Sector Industry Profile,” Dun & Bradstreet, August 19, 2024.

2. “Professional Services - United States,” Statista, June 2024.

3. Ibid.

4. “The Race to Cloud: Reaching the Inflection Point to Long Sought Value,” Accenture, January 23, 2023.

5. Raphael Bohne, “Share of Professional Organizations Worldwide That Are Likely to Adopt New Technologies Between 2023 and 2027, by Technology,” Statista, November 8, 2023.

6. “ISC2 Reveals Growth in Global Cybersecurity Workforce, but Record-Breaking Gap of 4 Million Cybersecurity Professionals Looms,” ISC2, October 31, 2023.

7. “The Race to Cloud.”

8. Ibid.

9. “Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024,” PwC, June 24, 2024.

10. “ITRC Annual Data Breach Report,” Identity Theft Resource Center, 2023.

11. “Cost of Data Breach Report 2024,” Ponemon Institute and IBM Security, July 2024.

12. Ibid.