SMALL to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) today face challenges from the fast-moving world of technology without realising that these could hinder efficiency.
For a start, there are two countervailing demands, namely, leveraging on Internet protocol (IP) networks to do business more effectively, and protecting these networks from the potential dangers of the Internet.
That the Internet carries certain dangers is a threat that cannot be ignored, and these security threats are costing SMEs largely in terms of productivity loss. SMEs should look across many systems and operational procedures to ensure that they have reliable security practices and technology to lower their security risks.
Protection is important
With network security as a moving target, it is critical for companies to define their in-house competencies and establish the level of expertise required from external sources. With the rapid evolution of technology, network security is not a challenge that can be overcome with a single system.
It will require routine examination and updating to make necessary adjustments to their network security postures in order to to address the changing landscape of threats.
'Protection is important. Many SMEs have yet to realise the significance of technology in their businesses today. We combine industry-leading security technology with specialised security staff and processes to help enterprises selectively outsource security tasks,' says Vignesa Moorthy, chief executive of Viewqwest, a firm that provides IT infrastructure for corporate firms.
Two out of every three SMEs leverage on the Internet to improve their business operations and almost 66 per cent of SMEs have already established a virtual shopfront on the Internet, according to an Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) survey in 2007. This means that SMEs are even more susceptible to online threats as they are conducting transactions online and maximising the usage of Web communications tools such as e-mail, instant messaging and file sharing.
One of the most common time wasters among these is e-mail spamming, which can be easily tackled. E-mail spamming, a problem common to individuals, has not spared businesses from its aggressive wrath. Companies can act proactively by engaging services to help control spam levels and decrease the time wasted.
'SMEs spend much time filtering important e-mails among the huge pile they receive on a day to day basis. This is time they could spend more effectively if they implement appropriate measures,' says Mr Moorthy.
Companies such as Tumbleweed have created solutions to combat this issue. Earlier this year, Tumbleweed launched Mailgate 3.5, a product which has an anti-spam appliance feature that acts like an e-mail gateway to eliminate virus attacks and spam. It has layered anti-spam filtering technologies which include meticulous content and image analysis, and rules-based heuristics, with automated updates to all appliances every hour to block majority inbound spam.
At the same time, Mailgate manages e-mail transiting the enterprise perimeter, preventing data loss. By providing content filtering to ensure that corporate policies are enforced and legal liability is minimised, as well as flexible policy controls and encryption of outbound messages, it is able to ensure high levels of data integrity.
Credibility is key
'In SMEs where credibility is key for maintaining client relationships, it is essential that all measures are taken to prevent data leakages or data breaches,' says Stree Naidu, vice-president of Tumbleweed for Asia-Pacific and Japan.
Cost is the key factor that holds these SMEs back from taking measures to implement technological protection. Says Mr Naidu: 'As smaller-sized enterprises, these companies lack the financial means to implement the required sophisticated technology and infrastructure the bigger companies have.'
As a solutions provider, Viewqwest has taken a client-centric approach by offering subscriptions for customised managed services to help keep costs low.
'The company serves a customer base that includes many hedge funds and venture capital firms. These firms are generally compact in size but handle massive transaction volumes each day. In order to cope with such a heavy load of information to be processed, these firms require solid infrastructure,' says Mr Moorthy. 'We enable organisations to leverage on the infrastructure that we have built as opposed to building and managing their own.'
With the rapid advancement of technological threats, SMEs would do well to put prevention and control measures in place.
This article was first published in The Business Times on October 22, 2004.
