3 Major Hurdles to Effective SME Cybersecurity
Before you even finish reading this article, another small business will have been successfully hacked. In the UK, one SME is attacked every 19 seconds, and 65,000 attempts occur every day. From the rise of ransomware to the remote work transformation, SMEs have a lot to navigate these days. Cybersecurity should be at the top of the list, but building out a robust and effective strategy is not without its own challenges. Here, we take a look at three obstacles you may face—in knowing the pitfalls, you can better plan for and implement the necessary solutions to protect your business.
1.The Technology Skills Gap
Just when experienced technology professionals are most needed, it’s never been harder to find, train, and retain top talent. Ensuring you have the right staff and resources in place is a critical component of protecting your organisation. In the UK, the digital skills shortage is at an “all-time high” especially among cybersecurity talent. Approximately 80% of digital leaders report that employee retention is difficult right now, yet nearly 40% also hope to boost technology investment and staff. For most SMEs, this is not a workable equation.
One way to solve this problematic equation is to look externally. Many leading SMEs are partnering with managed security service providers, like Optec. These expert partners will, in essence, extend the capacity of your technology team because you’ll gain instant and ongoing access to highly qualified experts dedicated to serving the unique needs of your organisation. Often, there’s a misconception that it will cost more to enlist external help. Not true with Optec; our range of customisable services is affordable (especially when compared to the time and cost of talent recruitment), and we offer clear, up-front, and transparent costs that you can strategically plan and budget for.
2. IT Budget
One reason that SMEs are attractive targets for cybercriminals is their vulnerability. Unlike their larger, enterprise counterparts, SMEs often lack the budget necessary to implement and manage a robust cybersecurity strategy to keep attackers at bay. An effective cybersecurity strategy must be built upon best-in-breed technology—but—investing in the latest tools and services in a one-off manner can be cost prohibitive for small businesses and start-ups.
Once again, another way to solve a tricky equation is to consider a fully outsourced solution to achieve an optimal security posture. More and more, SMEs are partnering with third-party experts to build a robust cybersecurity strategy that is provided at an affordable, transparent, and monthly cost. Partnering with a vendor on security-as-a-service solutions will also enable your SME to pay for technology infrastructure as a small, predictable, recurring expense (OpEx), rather than a hefty capital expense (CapEx). This means that your organisation can pay for cybersecurity in the same manner that it’s consumed, for more flexible, transparent, and predictable budgeting and an affordable, pay-as-you-go model. For example, at Optec, we offer SMEs an affordable Network-as-a-Service solution, which gives you everything you need to run, manage, and protect your network, at a predictable monthly cost.
3. Evolving Threats
SMEs operate in an unfortunate new landscape where devastating threats materialise every day—on top of daily operations, businesses must also stay on top of these current and emerging threats. The commoditisation of ransomware also means that bad actors can target and attack SMEs with greater ease than ever before.
The best defence for your SME is to opt for a broad, robust security system that provides consolidated management and a complete networking and security platform for lean technology teams, such as Fortinet Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW). With Fortinet’s NGFW, you get proven security (AV, IPS, DNS, and web/content filtering) built around your specific business intent (users, devices, and applications). It’s natively integrated, versus the many poorly integrated, bolt-on products we see today.
Lastly, partnering with a trusted expert on your cybersecurity strategy delivers something that’s hard to put a price tag on: peace of mind. Your busy team can rest assured that your security actually works, and that it can adapt to changing requirements and the latest threats. At Optec, we leverage automated threat intelligence so you and your team are notified in minutes, not days, to best protect you from the most advanced threats.
Nearly 90% of UK companies suffered a breach in the last 12 months. We don’t want to count you in this group, and neither do you! Please reach out to learn more about how our affordable, customised, and effective cybersecurity solutions can protect your SME. Just give us a ring at 01280 878597 or sales@optec.co.uk.
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