The future of work went from vision to reality nearly overnight when the COVID-19 pandemic compelled home working or a complete shutdown for a majority of companies. Where a business was in the digital transformation journey determined how quickly it could adapt.
Larger organisations were typically ahead. For small to medium enterprises (SMEs), a less mature level of readiness was often a disadvantage. The suddenness of the change caused by the pandemic revealed this digital divide and reinforced the importance of resiliency.
The impact of SMEs is significant, and we are committed to helping close that gap. Your businesses create around 85 percent of new jobs and provide 66 percent of total private sector employment1 in the EU, contributing 3.9 billion Euros to the EU value added2. We recently launched V-Hub by Vodafone Business - a service that provides guides, tips and chat help services to increase digitalisation in these critical businesses.
We’re now building on that to offer managed security services that help small to medium companies like yours easily protect, detect, respond and recover from cyberattacks. We’re bringing the advantages of large enterprise services, without the need to hire your own staff, to help you get through the crisis and move toward a more digital future.
The challenge of cybersecurity
The fluctuating nature of the pandemic forced businesses to react quickly. According to the Vodafone Business Future Ready Report 2020, 71 percent of businesses surveyed invested in at least one new technology over the last few months in response.
However, we understand that with little time, limited resources and instant demand, you didn’t necessarily have the chance to build with security in mind. Unfortunately, cyber criminals looking for easy targets have realised that smaller businesses are often less secure.
Our enterprise-grade cybersecurity managed services will address any deficiencies and increase your overall cyber resilience strength. You’ll also have access to top cyber talent through professional services - 32 percent of businesses surveyed in the report cited particular difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff for cybersecurity roles.
Confidence for a more digital future
With our new services, your journey to resilience starts with a cyber-assessment that measures the current state, examines vulnerability, performs testing and provides employee awareness. The managed security services available will include monitoring, phishing prevention, incident management and response. In addition, the managed security services will be easy to use, deploy and scale as an SME grows. Complexity - an obstacle to resilience - will be reduced at every stage.
The importance of SMEs
Small to medium sized enterprises are the lifeblood of economies around the world, driving innovation across industries.
Having been hit especially hard due to COVID-19 shut downs, ensuring you are in a strong position to return to business as usual is a must. Those of you who lead and work in SMEs probably won’t be surprised by the Future Ready Report findings, which show that 50 percent of SMEs across Europe expect lower profits this year compared to 36 percent of larger rivals.
On the upside, the report also identified attributes of the most resilient organisations studied based on their responses to common business challenges before, during and beyond the COVID-19 crisis.
They displayed six unifying characteristics, including adaptability, an openness to technology and clear transformation goals. Whether it’s through managed security services or enhancing digital transformation, we’re committed to helping you gain strength in these areas and become more future ready.
