Running a small or medium business (SMB) requires a lot of skills and capabilities from a small team. That’s why many businesses in this category partner with a managed IT services provider in Atlanta to help fill in the gaps. One of the important areas to think about for all businesses is data security and how non-compliance can affect how the business runs. Processing card payments is a particularly important capability that enables your business to get quick payment for the goods and services you provide. Learn more about the importance of compliance in this area below.
Breaking Down PCI DSS
Processing card payments involves processing sensitive personal and financial information. For that reason, this is a highly regulated area. Data breaches have been on the rise, and any business that is looking to have this necessary facility must meet the requirements or face stiff penalties.
Payment card industry (PCI) regulations have been put in place to protect card users when they make transactions with their cards directly or online. These standards are known as PCI DSS, which stands for payment card industry data security standards. There are different levels of regulations, depending on how many Visa transactions a business handles. Businesses that process over 6 million transactions each year fall into the first level of compliance. On the other end, businesses that process less than 20,000 Visa card transactions each year fall into Level 4 of the compliance requirements.
SMB Considerations
As far as data security and data breaches are concerned, all businesses are affected regardless of their size. For SMBs, however, there are a few reasons why there has been an alarming increase in the number of data breaches over the years. One of the main ones is that SMBs do not have the resources to deploy full-time IT personnel in their businesses. Another related reason is the lack of focus and knowledge in the area of data security, as other areas of business are prioritized higher.
Whatever stage you find your business at, you don’t have to do it all alone. Managed IT services providers in Atlanta help businesses every day to protect their IT systems and improve their compliance. This minimizes the risk of a data breach and of non-compliance. This saves the business from penalties, legal consequences, downtime, and lost business.
To learn more about PCI DSS and data security, get in touch with us at MIS Solutions. We are a local provider of managed IT services in Atlanta.