SMB spending on physical and cybersecurity on the rise

DALLAS—More than half of SMBs are concerned about cybersecurity regarding employees’ home networks, while 21 percent report an increase in need for products and services to protect or monitor the physical safety of the business, according to the latest research from Parks Associates.

“One-third of SMBs have already increased spending on solutions such as voice and video conferencing services, internet access, IT devices, and support, and 37% are likely to purchase cybersecurity services over the next six months,” said Jennifer Kent, VP, Research, Parks Associates. “Managing and securing networks, and supporting the ever-growing portfolio of end-user devices are top priorities, and they are increasingly turning to ISPs for Wi-Fi management, network security, and other value-added services.”

The international research firm presented its latest data on consumer demand in the SMB market, including opportunities for service providers, device and system makers, and IoT solution providers to compete and deploy new value-added services in the small business sector at its Twenty-fifth annual CONNECTIONS Conference, which focused on the demand for connected products in SMB market.

The opening session, Smart Products - Serving the SMB Market, featured keynote speaker Christian Nascimento, VP of Product, Comcast Business, who explored the increased importance of connectivity services to SMBs, followed by an Executive Q&A session with Razvan Todor, Director of Connected Home Security, Bitdefender. In addition an interactive panel addressed the shifts in the SMB market, including Andrew Goldberg, VP of Strategic Planning & Analysis, Cox Communications; James Reno, Sr. Director - Commercial Business, Alarm.com; Peter Suica, Director of National and Strategic Accounts, Johnson Controls; and JT Taylor, Product Marketing Lead, Synamedia.

“There’s a growing need for business owners to remotely administer employees,” said Alarm.com’s Reno. “Combining intrusion, access control, video surveillance, and more on a single platform and managing it all through one interface means business owners can multitask more efficiently and virtually be in more places at once without stepping foot out their door.”

Bitdefender’s Todor added, “The ‘not much to steal’ myth, common among SMBs owners is not confirmed in the real life. They have less secure networks, easier to breach. Hackers will always go for the ‘low-hanging fruit’ rather than investing time for a big target that in the end might not be breached. To keep pace with these threats, SMBs need to find a solution that will allow them to employ enterprise-grade inspection and filtering technologies tailored for their network environment without the overhead of a dedicated security department.”

Start-ups and SMBs are looking for enterprise-level solutions that “equip them to operate more efficiently, provide higher levels of service to their customers, and thrive in a competitive market,” noted Goldberg. “To meet evolving customer requirements, Cox has moved beyond connectivity to managed software, infrastructure and devices, cloud solutions, remote healthcare, and more that define and support the smart working environments that businesses demand today.”

For more on the conference and Parks research, click here.