This past year tested the limits of every IT Director, forcing teams to balance rapid business demands with ever-increasing cybersecurity threats. These leaders faced unprecedented challenges, from managing the spread of Shadow AI to navigating complex compliance mandates like CMMC. Staying ahead requires not only robust security tools but also strategic guidance to protect against relentless cyber threats and ensure business continuity. To help our partners tackle these shifting priorities, we've made a list (and checked it twice!) of some of the most popular resources from this year.
Having a hometown holiday? Getting out of Dodge? Wherever you find yourself this season, we’re serving up groovy tunes in these Spotify playlists compiled to reflect the local vibes of our offices across the country. CompassMSP may be coast-to-coast, but we're still your trusted, local MSP and cyber provider.
The Rise of Shadow AI: Unsanctioned Adoption at Scale
Navigate Cybersecurity and Compliance Challenges with Ease
When You Win, Your Customers Win
The Rise of Shadow AI: Unsanctioned Adoption at Scale
- Webinar: Shadow AI: How to Go From Rogue to Regulated - Shadow AI has become a significant concern due to potential data leakage as employees input proprietary or sensitive data into external, unvetted systems, bypassing all corporate security, data privacy, and compliance controls, thus introducing a severe AI Cyber Security Risk. One of the most critical steps an IT Director can take to protect their business is to establish and formally communicate clear AI policies throughout the organization. By providing an approved and governed pathway, employees can use AI safely in the workplace, keeping productivity up and data secure.
- eBook: Shadow AI Playbook: 7 Steps to Guide, Govern, & Grow with AI - Generative AI (GenAI) was adopted globally on a massive scale, leading to its utilization in 78% of businesses and driving major revenue and efficiency gains, especially within mid-market companies. Despite these benefits, over 90% of workers rely on unapproved personal chatbot accounts, highlighting a significant governance gap where employee adoption far outpaces official IT strategy. By strategically connecting vision, guardrails, data, people, and training, organizations can successfully shift unsanctioned AI usage from a risk into a powerful driver for faster innovation, stronger security, and measurable business growth.
Navigate Cybersecurity and Compliance Challenges With Ease
- Article: The IT Director’s Definitive Cybersecurity Playbook for Small Businesses - The"we're too small" mindset is a critical vulnerability, and it's one cybercriminals exploit every single day. To secure budget buy-in, IT Directors must shift their language, translating technical risk into financial exposure by framing security investments as insurance against the U.S. average breach cost of $4.88 million. While human error remains the cause of 95% of breaches, this can be combatted by replacing outdated training with a continuous "human firewall" program that uses subtle phishing simulations and rewards reporting. Partnering with a Managed Security Services Partner (MSSP) provides access to 24/7 security expertise, allowing the internal IT Director to shift from a reactive "firefighter" to a strategic "architect" focused on business enablement.
- Article: Shut The Front Door: 7 Ways to Strengthen Your Remote Work Security - Remote work turned every employee's laptop and home Wi-Fi into a new entry point for cybercriminals, a vulnerability compounded by rampant human error like falling for phishing or using weak passwords. To effectively secure a distributed workforce without slowing them down, companies must implement key best practices like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), securing home networks, and adopting modern Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) solutions. You don’t need to overhaul your entire operation to improve security. These best practices can make a big difference in safeguarding your teams from cyber threats.
- Insights: Cybersecurity Calculator - To help small and mid-sized businesses understand their risk, our Cybersecurity Calculator provides a realistic estimate of the potential financial impact of a ransomware attack. By entering your annual revenue and industry, the tool uses industry breach data to project the average cost, including expenses like downtime and recovery. This estimate provides a clear baseline, enabling you to compare the cost of risk versus prevention and effectively justify cybersecurity investments to leadership.
- Article: The Complete Email Security Guide for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses - The landscape of cyber-attacks has evolved from simple viruses and basic phishing scams in past decades to today's complex, sophisticated threats like AI-powered deepfakes and advanced persistent threats (APTs). Proper email security is about a layered defense; it's important to implement employee and security awareness training, and set up access controls for everything.
- Article: MSP vs. MSSP vs. vCISO: The Three Pillars of a Resilient Business - The core difference between a Managed Service Provider (MSP) and a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) remains their focus: MSPs handle general IT operations and infrastructure management, while MSSPs specialize in advanced, 24/7 cybersecurity services like threat detection and incident response. The vCISO, however, represents the crucial strategic and governance layer absent from both, as this executive-level function is accountable for managing risk, ensuring compliance, and creating the security blueprint that the MSP and MSSP then execute. Which security leader is the best fit for your business?
- Article: The Foundation of CMMC: How the NIST Framework Prepares Manufacturers for DoD Contracts - As of November 10, 2025, a manufacturer's eligibility for Department of Defense (DoD) contracts now relies entirely on their cybersecurity score. The CMMC Level 2 requirement for companies handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is essentially the verification of compliance with the 110 controls of NIST SP 800-171. To comply, manufacturers must first conduct a self-assessment against NIST 800-171 controls and then establish a System Security Plan (SSP) and Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) to secure their network.
When You Win, Your Customers Win
- Article: 4 Ways Small Businesses Can Improve Customer Experience and Increase Revenue - A single bad customer experience is highly destructive, as frustrated consumers tell nearly twice as many people about a negative event compared to a positive one. Businesses should focus on optimizing the complete customer journey, not just individual touchpoints, by identifying and eliminating points of friction in processes like problem resolution and onboarding. Key improvement strategies include implementing a unified communications platform (UCaaS) to prevent customers from repeating themselves, and empowering front-line employees to resolve common issues instantly. Ultimately, a trusted IT foundation is the backbone of great customer experiences, ensuring security, reliability, and faster performance, all directly affecting revenue, continuity, and long-term customer trust.
- Case Study: Southwest Cardiovascular Associates Boosts Patient Experience & Operational Agility with Unified Communications - The outdated, legacy infrastructure at Southwest Cardiovascular Associates (SWCVA) resulted in frequent call drops, inefficient workflows, and a lack of real-time data. By moving to a flexible communications infrastructure, SWCVA empowered its staff with the tools to handle high call volumes without friction. CompassMSP implemented 8x8 Work and 8x8 Contact Center, resulting in a 50% increase in employee productivity and a 60% improvement in first-call resolution.
Hot Off The Press!
Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, making security management a formidable task for small and mid-sized businesses. You are handling the same serious threats as a Fortune 500 company, but without its expansive budget. Check out this article to learn more about future IT trends and how they should inform every IT Director's playbook in 2026.
