Outsourcing IT Security for SMEs: Costs, MSP vs MSSP and How to Choose

For Dutch SMEs, running cybersecurity in-house is getting harder to sustain in 2026. Attackers work around the clock, tooling keeps getting more expensive, a single experienced analyst costs €60,000 to €80,000 a year plus licences, and the Cyberbeveiligingswet (the Dutch implementation of NIS2) is landing a pile of new obligations on the doormat. Small wonder that 38 percent of SMEs had outsourced their security to an MSSP by 2026, up from 22 percent two years earlier. In this guide we explain how to approach outsourcing IT security, what it costs and what to look for when choosing a partner.

What outsourcing IT security actually means

Outsourcing IT security goes further than "getting your IT partner to sort out the antivirus". It means handing part or all of your information security to an external specialist who becomes responsible for detection, response and tooling, and often for reporting and compliance support as well.

In practice you will see three levels:

1. Baseline security through your managed service provider (MSP). Alongside IT management, your MSP handles antivirus, backup, patch management and MFA. A fine starting point, but detection and response outside office hours is limited.
2. Individual security modules from an MSSP. A security specialist for exactly one layer: managed EDR, email security or a 24/7 SOC. You handle the rest yourself or through your MSP.
3. Fully managed security through an MSSP. The MSSP manages firewalls, endpoints, identities, email, cloud and incident response, including 24/7 SOC monitoring.

The right fit depends on your turnover, your risk profile (sector, how sensitive your data is, whether NIS2 reaches you through your customers) and what you want to keep in your own hands.

Why so many SMEs are choosing to outsource now

The figures are sobering. In 2025 the NCSC (the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre) recorded more than 1.2 million cybersecurity incidents in the Netherlands, a 38 percent increase on 2023. The number of data breaches reported to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, AP) rose to 44,374 in 2025, against 37,839 in 2024. Almost every SME with 20 to 250 employees will sooner or later face phishing, stolen accounts, ransomware or simply a misaddressed email containing customer data.

Handling it yourself means having someone watching 24/7, plus the expertise to act under pressure. An in-house SOC easily costs €500,000 a year or more; a full-time cybersecurity specialist costs around €60,000 to €80,000 a year plus tooling. For most businesses with fewer than 250 employees, those numbers are hard to justify.

On top of that comes the Cyberbeveiligingswet, the Dutch implementation of the European NIS2 Directive, which takes effect in the second half of 2026. If you fall directly within its scope, ten baseline duties of care apply (risk analysis, incident response, MFA, supply chain security, encryption, training, timely patching). If you don't fall directly within scope, you will still face supplier audits if you supply the healthcare, energy, telecoms or public sector. Fines run up to €10 million or 2 percent of worldwide annual turnover. Our complete NIS2 guide for SMEs covers the duties of care in detail.

MSP or MSSP: what's the difference

The two terms are often used interchangeably. They are not the same thing.

A managed service provider (MSP) manages your IT environment broadly: helpdesk, workstations, Microsoft 365 tenant, network, backup, patch management and baseline security. Great for day-to-day peace of mind and continuity.

A managed security service provider (MSSP) does security and nothing else. Usually with its own SOC, a SIEM, EDR tooling and analysts watching detections 24/7. The MSSP works towards one goal: spotting attacks in time and stopping them.

You can recognise a good MSSP by a few things: a demonstrable 24/7 SOC (not "office hours" on a best-effort basis), clear response times per severity level, tenant separation so your data is never shared with other customers, and reports you can show your auditor. We go into this in more depth in What is an MSSP.

Most SMEs choose one of these two scenarios:

• MSP plus individual security modules. Your existing MSP keeps IT running and brings in a specialist MSSP for the heavy security layers (SOC, MDR, email security).
• One-stop MSP/MSSP. A single provider that handles both broad IT management and the security layer. Convenient for communication, provided that provider can genuinely show its security arm has its own SOC and its own specialists.

What you can outsource and what you keep

There is a difference between "we hand over everything" and "we offload the difficult parts". Be deliberate about what you outsource.

Well suited to outsourcing: 24/7 detection and response (SOC, MDR), email security with anti-phishing and BEC detection, endpoint security with NGAV and EDR, vulnerability and patch management for internet-facing systems, security awareness and phishing simulations, and compliance support for NIS2, ISO 27001 and GDPR.

What you deliberately keep in-house or steer closely: who is allowed to do what (the business decides which data may go where), risk acceptance (the MSSP advises, but residual risk sits with you) and crisis communication (who calls customers, the press and staff).

What does outsourcing IT security cost an SME in 2026

Prices vary by provider and package, but the ranges in the Dutch SME market are fairly stable:

• Baseline security through your MSP (antivirus/NGAV, MFA, patching, backup, 8x5 helpdesk): often already included in the MSP rate of roughly €30 to €100 per user per month.
• Individual MSSP modules (for example managed EDR or email security on its own): roughly €5 to €25 per user per month per module.
• All-in managed security (managed firewall, ZTNA, endpoint, email, 24/7 SOC, reporting): around €20 to €75 per user per month for an SME package, rising to €100 to €150 for an extensive package.
• Managed SOC as a separate product: internationally roughly $2,650 to $8,470 per month for an SME, depending on log volume and number of endpoints.

When comparing, always factor in what you currently spend on separate tools, licences, your IT team's hours and the risk of downtime. Outsourcing then often turns out to be no more expensive, just more predictable. For a broad view of your total cybersecurity spend, see our guide to cybersecurity budgets for SMEs.

Pros and cons of outsourcing

What you gain: 24/7 coverage without building your own SOC, up-to-date tooling you couldn't afford yourself, knowledge of threats already seen at other customers, predictable costs per user per month, and compliance help for NIS2, GDPR and ISO 27001.

What to watch out for: loss of control if nobody on your side coordinates, vendor lock-in if you put everything with a single provider, vague SLAs that only show their gaps during an incident, and alert fatigue if the MSSP forwards notifications without filtering them.

Outsourcing isn't smart if your basics aren't in place yet. Without MFA everywhere, up-to-date systems and a tested backup, you are simply moving the mess to someone else's desk.

How to choose a good partner in 5 steps

1. Start with a baseline assessment. The Basisscan Cyberweerbaarheid from the Digital Trust Center (part of the NCSC since January 2026) takes about 5 minutes and gives you a first picture. Supplement it with an external security assessment or pentest.
2. Define your scope. What exactly should the external party do: 24/7 SOC, endpoint, email, identity, compliance, awareness? Put it on a single sheet of A4.
3. Ask for verifiable figures. Response times per severity, MTTR on recent incidents, the number of analysts on the night shift, and whether their SOC is ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certified.
4. Test the exit clause. Can you leave within 30 days, taking your logs, tenants and configurations with you? Without a clear exit, you are locked in.
5. Choose a cultural match. Cybersecurity relies on trust and fast communication. An MSSP that only responds through a portal becomes difficult in a real incident.

Still looking for an IT partner in general (broad or security-specific)? Our checklist for choosing an IT partner will guide you through the comparison.

Which SLA terms matter

The SLA is the core of your outsourcing contract. For cybersecurity, these elements are non-negotiable:

• Response time per severity. For example: critical incidents picked up within 15 minutes, high within 1 hour.
• Communication channels. Who calls whom, at what time, through which channel and with what permissions.
• Reporting. A readable monthly report you can put on the management team's agenda, not just a dashboard full of charts.
• Tooling availability. What happens if your MSSP's own SIEM goes down.
• Escalation path. Which manager at the MSSP you can turn to in a crisis.
• Data breach support. Help with the 72-hour notification to the AP, including a draft notice and a technical statement.

Outsourcing and NIS2: how they fit together

The Cyberbeveiligingswet (NIS2) shifts responsibilities. Outsourcing to an MSSP doesn't make your business any less responsible for its information security, but it does make meeting the duty of care achievable. Points to note: your MSSP itself becomes a link in your supply chain and must show it meets comparable requirements; you cannot transfer the obligation to register with the supervisory authorities; and a significant incident must be reported within 24 hours (early warning), followed by a more detailed notification within 72 hours and a final report within one month. Your MSSP supplies the technology; you press the button.

Frequently asked questions about outsourcing IT security

Can I outsource just my cybersecurity and keep running the rest of my IT myself? Yes. Many SMEs choose exactly this model: an in-house IT person or MSP handles day-to-day IT management, and an MSSP comes in alongside as the security specialist for SOC, EDR and email security. The MSSP connects to your existing tenants and tooling and works with your internal team under an agreed RACI.

What's the difference between outsourcing a SOC and buying MDR services? Outsourcing a SOC means an external party collects and analyses logs and reports incidents. MDR (Managed Detection and Response) goes a step further: the MSSP is also allowed to intervene actively on your systems, for example by isolating endpoints or blocking accounts, without first waiting for approval. For SMEs, MDR is often more effective, because the average SME has no team outside office hours that can interpret a SOC alert itself. See also our explainer on outsourcing a SOC vs MDR.

How do I avoid getting locked in to a single security vendor? Write into the contract that logs, configurations and policies remain yours, and that you will receive them in an exportable format within 30 days of termination. Where possible, choose tooling that isn't fully proprietary (the Microsoft Defender ecosystem, mainstream SIEMs). Test once a year whether your exit scenario actually works.

Roughly what does a 24/7 SOC cost for an SME with 50 employees? Expect roughly €1,000 to €3,500 per month for a shared MSSP SOC service, depending on log volume, number of endpoints and whether MDR is included. An all-in package per user per month (managed firewall, endpoint, email, SOC) at this size often comes to around €20 to €50 per user per month.

Does outsourcing make sense if I haven't set up MFA and backups yet? No. Start with the basics. Without MFA, up-to-date patches, isolated backups and a minimum level of awareness, hiring an MSSP just moves money around. Our Cybersecurity checklist for SMEs in 2026 helps you get those basics in order before you sign with an MSSP.

Conclusion

For most Dutch SMEs in 2026, outsourcing IT security is the logical route: 24/7 coverage, up-to-date tooling and compliance help without having to build your own SOC. The pitfall isn't the cost, but poorly scoping what you outsource and to whom. Decide deliberately what you keep in your own hands (control, risk acceptance, crisis communication), set out what you expect from your MSSP (SLA per severity, MDR capability, reporting, exit) and only start outsourcing once your basics are in order.

TRON Group helps Dutch SMEs take that step properly: from baseline assessment and scoping to MSSP selection, contracting and day-to-day coordination. Want to know what outsourcing would cost and deliver for your organisation? Get in touch via our cybersecurity page or call us directly on +31 85 303 5869 for a no-obligation conversation.