SMB’s have long had a perception that cyber-attacks won’t happen to them, when the reality is that in Australia, a cyber-attack is reported every 8 minutes1.
The data is in
Did you know, only 14% of SMB’s have adequate cyber security defense? And 43% of all data breaches involve SMBs2.
A cyber attacks leaves a staggering 83% of SMB’s unable to recover financially.
The opportunity for you, as an MSP is considerable. And the good news?
- 53% of SMB’s have indicated they plan to invest into business continuity solutions in the next 12 – 24 months.3
- 84% of SMBs in APAC are forecasted to maintain or increase spending on cloud technologies in the next 24 months.3
Understanding the risk SMB’s face
To better understand the risk that SMBs face, MSPs need to be equipped to communicate to their customers that disruption, disaster and data loss can come in many forms, not just a cyber attack.
Businesses were at risk from technology disruption long before the term “hacking” entered the dictionary, and that continues today. These threats include employee errors such as deleting files and folders and downloading non-approved virus-ridden apps. Employees with malign intent can steal money or destroy critical information from the inside.
Data loss can be caused by many different factors, and each poses a unique problem for data recovery.
- Over two-thirds (67%) of data loss is caused by hard drive crashes or system failure,
- 14% is caused by human error
- and 10% is a result of software failure4.
Whilst there are many risks for data loss, the recent emergence of industrial-level cybercrime, with sophisticated criminal gangs using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to maximise their potential for success, has ramped up the risk to businesses large and small.
The Opportunity for MSP’s
Over the next 12 – 24 months 53% of SMBs will be investing into business continuity solutions3. Now is the time to check in with your customers and see where they are at with their business continuity journey.
So, where do you start?
Start with cloud backup
Given the many barriers to SMBs addressing BC, an optimum strategy for a first engagement is simply to start on one initial clear need and go for some quick wins. Each SMB will be different but there are common themes, and everyone needs reliable off-site backup. This gives the client certainty they at least have the business’s key data secured. It also gets the customer thinking with a business continuity mindset and should open them up to a more strategic approach. Backup is the crucial foundation for a layered, cyber-resilience strategy in an increasingly threat-heavy IT landscape.
Next do a BC audit
Where possible use a checklist to identify the customer’s starting position and priorities. This serves as the basis for a BC plan where you can help the customer identify strengths and weaknesses in their current BC position and focus on fixing the highest priority areas. This isn’t a lengthy exercise, it’s just a one or two-day consulting session with the leadership team, and a short document that defines current BC readiness.
Get Ready Now
Business continuity is imperative for business survival and business growth and SMB’s are starting to understand this. The perception of “it won’t happen to me”, is shifting!
If MSP’s can get positioned now with the right business continuity solutions, they can get ahead of SMB investment priorities and reap the rewards.
There’s an opportunity to be proactive and educate your customers, which will help them potentially save their business and help you as an MSP to increase your value to and partnership with your customers – and increase your revenues.
Crayon can help you
Would you like to know more about the market opportunity within the business continuity, disaster recovery, and backup space? We can help, we recently released an infographic that takes a deeper look how you can innovate to compete within business continuity.
The Race is on in Business Continuity
The perception of business continuity is shifting gears. SMBs are racing ahead to invest. Partners! Are you ready to start your competitive engines?
View Infographic1 How Common is Cyber Crime in Australia? | ECU Online
2 Cybersecurity in 2022 – A Fresh Look at Some Very Alarming Stats (forbes.com)
4 2021 eBook: The MSP Guide to Shifting Perceptions of Business Continuity by rhipe.
