The EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) estimates that SMBs establish 99% of all businesses in the EU, employing 100 million people and accounting for over half of the EU’s GDP. According to the World Bank, 90% of businesses around the globe are SMBs.
And yet, not many entities are in such dire need of security quite like SMBs and SoHos. To quote ENISA again, 80% of surveyed SMBs report that cybersecurity issues may seriously damage their operations and 57% admit that it may even result in them going out of business entirely.
SMBs are considered low-hanging fruit for attackers
Due to limited security architecture, and marginal resources to allocate to robust security solutions and qualified cybersecurity specialists, SMBs are considered an easy target for attackers. Other reasons stem from the simple fact there is low cybersecurity awareness among personnel, and there is a lack of suitable cybersecurity guidelines that the SMBs could follow.
One of the most common attacks SMBs face is ransomware. According to the Global SMB Ransomware Survey, nearly half (46%) of SMBs have experienced a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a malware virus designed to block user’s access to their data until they pay a ransom. For a company of such a size, a single attack like that can be severely damaging.
Telcos can easily fill in the security gap
As a dependable and trustworthy ally, a telco can provide SMBs with an ideal security solution that is user-friendly, low-maintenance, and ensures the protection of their entire network.
“We are the first ones to know that there is a new security threat in Croatia, while others might take a few weeks before they register the threat. And those few weeks might be fatal. By that time, we will already have a solution and even prevention plan in place for our B2B customers to be safe,” says Tino Herljević, the Senior ICT Security Presales Specialist from our telco partner A1 Croatia, regarding offering security to the SMB segment in the country.
Telcos possess a distinct advantage through network ownership. Unlike other vendors, they can deliver both mobile and fixed network security without requiring end-device installation.
Since the telco-branded security product is fully convergent and offers the opportunity for easy and seamless bundling, this step significantly increases the outreach of the telco and its long-term positioning efforts as the cybersecurity expert for its whole customer base.
A business opportunity not to be missed
What can a telco gain from all of this? The primary benefit is the ability to effortlessly cover an entire segment and substantially boost the ARPU and adoption rates of the telco-branded security product.
Not only that, those who already market the security product to B2C customers have the sales process cut out for them as the value propositions in both segments are very similar – there is no installation necessary, the service requires zero maintenance time, and it safeguards one’s whole digital life due to a two-layered protection consisting of Network Security and Identity Protection. All of this adds up to the charm of this often unexplored goldmine of cross-segment market opportunity. Explore security for SMB.
