There are many different challenges faced by Canadian small-medium businesses (SMBs) as they try to gain a lasting foothold in their respective industries. How can their business stand out from the crowd? How can they ensure that their business succeeds in the ever-changing market, while at the same time ensuring that performances and standards are maintained throughout the process?
These are just some of the questions that Canadian SMBs owners face on an on-going basis. Currently there are more than 1.1 million registered small-medium businesses in the country today — all dealing with those challenges.
Those owners also need to deal with the rising threat of cyberattacks, and educate themselves and their workforce on the perils of not taking cybersecurity seriously enough.
ESET’s brand ambassador in Canada, Marc Saltzman, explains the importance of Canadian SMBs becoming cyberaware: “Tech and security savviness is still not that common. Use it as a differentiator for your business. Show your customers that you care about them and their data.”
A recent Ipsos survey found that only 26 per cent of Canadian SMBs feel very confident that their business and its information is safe from cyberattacks; this is a seven-point drop from the 2016 survey on the same topic. It highlights the growing concern showed by Canadian SMBs when it comes to cybersecurity.
As these businesses expand over the coming months and years, they will be collecting, creating and storing a lot of important information. Some of this information can be used to better understand customers through CRM analytics and insights. This data that has been collected needs to be safely stored and protected.
This is why education is so important to owners and their workforce. Providing people with the knowledge of what dangers are out there in the cyberworld is a crucial step in the fight against cyberattacks. “With the right tools and technology you can proactively protect the valuable information you collect, create and store about your business and your customers,” says Saltzman.
Learn more about Canadian SMBs and Cybersecurity: The State of SMB Cybersecurity in Canada 2017
