Is a free open-source security stack enough for a small company?
It can be, if someone has the time and skills to install, update and tune it; the licence is free, the work is not. Open-source tools for traffic logging, intrusion detection and log collection are mature and widely used. For a small company the real cost is people: a server to run them, regular updates, rules to tune, and someone who reads the output every day and understands it. If you have an administrator who enjoys that work, it is a strong option. If not, the stack tends to be installed once and then forgotten. Ask honestly who will maintain it next year. A hosted tool with published prices and plain-language alerts trades some flexibility for less upkeep; the NetSenX Free plan lets you compare on your own network.
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