Flexible expertise matters, argues Mike Gillespie of the information security consultancy Advent IM.
UK organisations are under unprecedented pressure. Budgets are flat or shrinking, yet expectations are rising. Regulation is tightening – with measures like the NIS2 Directive, the Data Use Act, and the forthcoming Cyber Resilience Bill increasing accountability across critical sectors.
At the same time, many leaders describe a ‘skills shortage’ in cyber and data protection. But is the shortage really about availability, or affordability? Some argue that the talent is out there – it’s just priced beyond the reach of most organisations. Either way, the result is the same: a pressure cooker of rising costs, tighter rules, and fewer resources to go around.
Budget challenge
Hiring permanent security specialists is becoming unsustainable. The cost of experienced professionals has risen sharply, and many organisations simply can’t afford to keep them on the payroll. Even contracting comes with a heavy price tag, especially when those specialists aren’t needed full-time but are still charging daily rates. In this climate, organisations need a smarter approach: access to skills when they’re required, without the ongoing cost of ownership.
Case for outsourced expertise
This is where outsourced security support comes in. Done well, it delivers two big advantages:
1. Cost efficiency – Instead of paying for a full-time specialist you don’t always need, you pay only when expertise is required.
2. Trustworthiness and maturity – External consultants bring sector-wide insights from working across industries, helping organisations avoid common mistakes and adopt best practices faster.
In other words: it’s not about replacing internal teams. It’s about making sure organisations can scale up or down as needed… without wasting budget.
Sectoral and maturity considerations
Not all organisations face the same challenge in the same way. Highly regulated sectors like finance and healthcare may already be used to strict oversight, but even they are seeing the bar raised higher. For those less familiar with regulation, the shift can be overwhelming. The key point is this: being “mature” doesn’t mean you never need help. Even the most advanced organisations encounter bumps in the road where specialist support is essential. Outsourced expertise provides that safety net.
The New Normal
What’s happening in the UK is part of a wider shift:
• From owning security staff to accessing security expertise when needed.
• From paying for permanence to paying for impact.
This model reflects economic reality: budgets are tight, threats are evolving, and resilience can’t be built on headcount alone. It must come from flexible, trusted partnerships.
UK businesses are operating under intense security and regulatory pressure. Budgets are constrained, regulations are multiplying, and the cost of specialist expertise is often out of reach. The solution is not to chase permanent hires at any cost, but to embrace flexible access to trusted experts, drawing on them when needed and stepping back when not.
In today’s pressure cooker, resilience comes not from owning every skill in-house, but from knowing where to turn, and when.
Training
Advent IM on the training side has new courses designed to support organisations across sectors in responding to increasing regulatory demands, digital transformation, and information governance challenges. The new courses include:
Artificial Intelligence Security Awareness;
Data (Use and Access) Act;
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, guidance on exemptions, the public interest test, and compliance risk mitigation);
Security Aspect Letters (SAL) Workshop (for drafting and managing SALs in accordance with official standards and security protocols, for meeting contractual and regulatory responsibilities); and
Subject Access Requests (SAR).
With the rapid integration of AI across public sector organisations, Advent IM has developed an AI Security Awareness Training programme to help organisations build a strong foundational understanding of artificial intelligence and its implications. As AI becomes increasingly embedded into operational systems, organisations face new opportunities as well as emerging risks – which Advent IM is addressing through targeted, practical training alongside other AI support services such as ISO 42001 AI Management System.
Visit https://www.advent-im.co.uk/training-academy/.
