As former President Ronald Regan once said, the scariest words you’ll ever hear are “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help.”
In this case, the government is trying to help by forcing nearly all businesses to implement and maintain a strong cyber security program to protect the customer information these companies host – definitely not a bad thing, and all businesses should take this seriously without the government mandating it.
Along with the surge of people working from home or in hybrid situations over the last few years, there has also been an increase in employers looking for ways to monitor their employees’ work activities to ensure they actually ARE working when remote.
They say, “You get what you tolerate” and now more than ever, we’ve been conditioned to tolerate worse service at higher prices. Companies get a ‘free pass’ simply by saying phrases like “the labor shortage,” “because COVID,” or “inflation.
Small businesses are no less susceptible to data loss than larger organizations. In fact, it is more devastating for small businesses with limited resources to lose important data than it is for large corporations. To illustrate, a recent study reported that small businesses are a prime target for cyberattacks, accounting for 43%, or almost half, of all cyberattacks every year.
Losing business data can happen to anyone, no matter the size of the company. In fact, not having a reliable backup system in place is one of the top reasons for business failure. According to a University of Texas study, 94% of businesses fail to survive following a disastrous data loss, with 43% unable to reopen and 51% shutting down within two years.
As a small- or medium-sized (SMB) business owner, you are always looking for ways to be more productive and efficient. And while you may know about the common productivity drains like inefficient equipment or technology, there are others that can have a significant impact on your operations.
What do these three real e-mails have in common?
Kohl’s Winner – “Notifications – Re: 2nd attempt for Paul”
WalmartStores – “Re: CONFIRMED: Paul you are selected”
Lowe’s Winner – “Congratulations Paul! You Are The Lucky Online Winner Of A Brand-New Sweepstakes Dewalt Power Station Entry”
No, “Paul” isn’t the luckiest person in the world but, as you might have guessed, the target of cybercriminals.
If you're a small-business owner, finding a way to market your products and/or services may be one of the toughest things you’ll have to do in the new year. But it's important to start thinking about your marketing plan for 2023 as early as now. Many businesses wait until the last minute to start planning, and that's a mistake.
The holiday season is still a few weeks away, but it's never too early to start thinking about your holiday marketing strategy. Your competitors are likely doing the same thing: coming up with creative plans to capture holiday dollars.
This is why your holiday marketing strategy needs to stand out and beat the competition during the busy season.
For many businesses, IT serves as the virtual muscle that does the heavy lifting when executing programmatic and automated processes, monitoring operations, and assessing everything from product quality to customer satisfaction to overall organizational performance.
