You might think your small business doesn’t need professional IT services — but you’d be wrong. Why? Because you never know what might be lurking around the next corner that could spell trouble for your business.

Cyber crime can affect any company

Cybersecurity should be a top concern for any business, but small companies are often prime targets for cyber criminals because they don’t always have the same protections in place as larger companies. We’ve seen organizations of just four people get hit with ransomware attacks in the past.

An employee of a small business with fewer than 100 employees will receive 350% more social engineering attacks than an employee of a larger enterprise. Unfortunately, only one-third of small to midsize businesses have implemented new systems or technology to ensure security in the last year, and almost half of SMBs say they haven’t trained their employees on cybersecurity safety.

If you don’t have a reliable IT resource to help you with cybersecurity protection and insurance, you’re putting your business at risk. We’re regularly called in to businesses of all sizes after a cybersecurity incident, and the cause is almost always that the right security measures and training hadn’t been in place.

(We want to meet you and get to know your company, but we’d rather it not be under those harrowing circumstances. We’d prefer to help you plan ahead instead.)

Ask yourself:

• What areas of my business are most vulnerable to attack or breach? What systems and processes do I have in place to protect my business, employees and customers?
• What will I do when (not if) a cyberattack or breach occurs in my business? What steps should I take first? (Practicing really does help — and we can guide you through it.
• What will the effects of a breach or attack be on my company? (Consider loss of funds, data, and customer trust and loyalty. And don’t forget any regulatory fines.)

As the owner of a small business, your days are busy and full. But you simply can’t afford to stay unprotected.

Downtime is costly no matter your size

While cyberattacks can bring your business to a screeching halt, they’re not the only way you can face downtime. Server failure, network outages, hardware issues and even natural disasters can all stop you from getting work done.

The cost of downtime for a SMB can range from $10,000-$50,000 per hour — lost sales, reduced productivity and reputational damage add up fast.

Putting the right cybersecurity protections in place is vital, but if you’re already on top of that, consider other ways you should make sure your systems stay up and running.

• Network monitoring: Know a server or device is in danger of failing before it becomes an issue.
• Redundancy and failover: Reduce the time it takes to recover from an outage or avoid it altogether with backup systems in place.
• Updates and patches: Optimize your network’s security and performance by ensuring every server, access point and device is up-to-date.

You don’t know what you don’t know

With the rapid pace of change in technology, you could be behind without even knowing it — even if your systems were set up or assessed just a few years ago.

Consider:

• Which solutions are you using that are nearing end of life?
• Is your network optimally set up for remote work?
• Are you using password best practices?
• When it’s time to replace a server or software solution, what criteria will you use to decide on a new one?
• Do you have both business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place? (They’re two different things!)

Truly, the list of IT issues that could slow your small business down goes on and on. But you’re not an IT pro — you’re an expert in your field. With help from the team at Cenetric, you can focus on growing your business, knowing that your IT infrastructure is not only safe but also helping make your work better and more efficient.

If you need guidance to improve your IT operations or even just help with a special, one-time project, Cenetric has the experience and availability you’re looking for. Tell us about your challenges and we’ll be in touch to get started right away.