Whether it’s creating new jobs, driving innovation or being competitive in the market, medium-sized companies are the source of thriving economies. A report from the World Economic Forum states: “The European Commission recognizes that small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of the EU economy, accounting for 99% of all businesses in the EU and employing around 100 million people.” They also make more than that Half of Europe’s GDP and play a crucial role in creating value for all sectors of the EU economy.”

Although they make impressive contributions and are the cornerstone of growth and progress, medium-sized companies are often the most vulnerable when it comes to cybersecurity and data protection. As protecting corporate data becomes increasingly important for companies of all sizes, the task is becoming increasingly complex, expensive and time-consuming.

A growing IT challenge

A baseline measurement by the Flemish government shows that almost one in eight Flemish companies fell victim to a cyberattack in 2022. Large companies are most affected, but the impact is greater for smaller companies, which are less well protected. Around 40% of small SMEs experienced unusable ICT systems in 2021 due to cyberattacks.

Attacks on large companies make headlines, but in reality all companies are vulnerable. Medium-sized companies that do not have the extensive resources and know-how of larger companies are particularly at risk. On average, medium-sized companies have few IT staff and with a small team, time is valuable. As data protection challenges increase, pressure is increasing on IT teams to reduce costs and “do more with less.”

There is no cybersecurity panacea and nothing is impenetrable, but there are five very practical steps to make businesses more secure:

1. Train and motivate users: According to a Gartner study, human error will account for more than half of all cyber incidents by 2025. Ensure employees have access to data and identify the most valuable parts of your business. It is important to regularly train employees on cybersecurity and best practices. Keep them informed and hold them accountable for the security of your data.
2. Focus on data: We live in a data-driven world, where IT happens where the business needs it and where data is created and used everywhere. It is critical to trust and protect IT infrastructure, including data storage, hyperconverged systems, servers, networks and data protection. It is important to recognize that protecting the devices is not the most important thing, but rather protecting the data itself. Regular backups and data-centric encryption are essential to protect data as it travels across devices and networks.
3. Strengthen cybersecurity and reduce complexity: According to the 2022 Dell Global Data Protection Index (GDPI) survey, 91% of organizations are aware of or plan to implement a zero trust architecture. This is a proactive strategy that relies on known and authorized traffic across system boundaries and data pipelines, rather than relying solely on perimeter defenses. With security features built into hardware, firmware, and security control points, integrated data protection software, systems, and services can be deployed to protect data and applications wherever they reside.
4. Explore and invest in simple, scalable and efficient pay-per-use consumption models: Mid-sized businesses can leverage flexible payment and as-a-service solutions to address data protection challenges. You can rely on experienced suppliers to build and manage the physical infrastructure. Businesses today have the freedom to decide how they use and pay for their IT, and can scale their IT to meet the changing needs of their business.
5. Strengthen your security with MDR (Managed Detection and Response) services: Mid-sized businesses often struggle to keep up with increasing and evolving security threats. Finding and retaining experienced security professionals and interpreting fragmented data from different security products is challenging. MDR provides a fully managed, end-to-end, 24/7 solution to monitor, detect, investigate and respond to threats across an organization’s IT environment. Whether an organization has 50 or thousands of endpoints, MDR quickly and significantly improves security posture while reducing the burden on IT staff.

This is a contribution from Arnaud Bacros, Managing Director Dell Technologies Belgium & Luxembourg. Click Here to learn more about the company’s security solutions.