New Survey Reveals Small Businesses Lag Behind Larger Counterparts in Security and Unification

Affordable technology has eased the friction of digital workplace transformation, opening the process up to businesses of all sizes and budgets. Yet, surprisingly, the majority of businesses are still lagging behind, and the trend applies extra to small businesses.

A recent survey by Zoho, “Trends in Digital Workplace Transformation,” noted discrepancies in organizational maturity between international companies and those based in the United States, with US-based ones lagging behind slightly, 61% domestic versus 62.3% average internationally. The margin deepens significantly for small and medium-sized businesses, ranked at 58% maturity.

The survey outlines a few reasons why this may be the case. At a base level, it found many US small businesses remain vulnerable due to weak security measures and lack of awareness about the severity of issues and what can be done. While larger enterprises and tech firms have made progress in adopting new security protocols, small businesses often can’t afford that luxury, either with time or money, and thus incur higher risks.

The survey highlights two key areas where small businesses are particularly demonstrating a deficit, and what can be done about this: adopt more integrated and scalable digital solutions while simultaneously placing renewed emphasis on security for all of its employees. This can be done without overwhelming limited resources, as well.

Centralize information

To start the digital workplace transformation survey highlights some organizational areas where small businesses are excelling beyond their larger counterparts.

Consider how a company handles service and support tickets, a vital part of any growing organization. The small businesses surveyed in the digital workplace transformation survey were more likely to have adopted a structured and automated request management system than their larger counterparts, who are more likely to employ a more catch-as-catch-can informal and manual request channel. Additionally, the study found that small businesses do a better job of establishing a cadence for internal updates, with more than half (53%) running routine team meetings.

However, small businesses start trailing the pack when looking at the survey’s workplace trends entirely enabled by technology. Small businesses rarely employ dedicated, organization-wide communication channels or self-service capabilities for employees to collaborate with others. Much of this is understandable: Technology carries a financial cost that many smaller organizations simply can’t pay. For SMBs to continue growing, it’s paramount that information become centralized and accessible by anyone within an organization to support asynchronous work.

Thankfully, better CRM tools are becoming available, for less money, every day, and the pricing structures have evolved to match their democratization. One in particular, “land and expand,” has become quite popular among SMBs because it scales along with the business, allowing for new pieces of software to be added to a package, or an increase in user base, whenever the company would like—without locking them into unnecessary contracts or incurring extra fees. SMBs should look out for vendors offering these sorts of pricing structures and opt to use the associated CRMs, which will give employees time to adjust workflows before going all-in on a new way of working.

Emphasize security

Over the last few years, security tools have become far more sophisticated and affordable; many of them come standard with software packages focused on small businesses. Yet, according to the survey, many businesses still haven’t worked these safeguards into their workflows. Only half of US businesses make use of multi-factor authentication (MFA), biometrics, or one-time passwords (OTPs) to access systems—far more secure methods than the old-fashioned, one-password method.

Both in-person and remote work suffer from security concerns, as well. Less than 25% of remote workers surveyed said they undergo secure access policies, such as VPN encryption or authentication, while working from home. At the office, only 30% of organizations surveyed have implemented physical security controls, like distributing ID badges or designating secure areas. Across the board, less than one fourth of employees have received any cyber threat training whatsoever.

Small businesses can buck this trend by prioritizing education for their employees. It begins by demonstrating what questionable activity looks like—phishing emails, scam phone calls, and shady access attempts—followed by actions employees can take right away to mitigate risk. This last point is of particular importance given that a mere 15% of employees surveyed claim to have ever reported a security threat through official channels.

Part of this process should include establishing organization-wide communication channels to disseminate information, verify the identity of a sender, or hear directly from HR. The survey found that few small businesses have this piece in place; without easy means of communication, it can be difficult for employees to align on best practices, even when the company itself is small. A small step companies can take is to append a “security updates” segment to mandatory team meetings, even if there isn’t much to discuss. This establishes a routine and makes space for employees to ask questions.

Continued change

Perhaps most importantly, the digital workplace transformation survey identified a troubling trend: small businesses rarely implement new tools when the technology becomes available, setting them far behind their larger counterparts.

This isn’t to suggest all small businesses undergo a complete overhaul of their processes—far from it. Rather, the survey suggests that SMBs begin looking at small areas where technology can enhance either workplace communication or security, and begin laying the groundwork for lasting digital transformation. These small pieces begin to add up quickly.

Most importantly, small businesses need to recognize that these are important steps for companies to take at some point; the earlier SMBs can start on their maturation journey, the better.

This article, "New Survey Reveals Small Businesses Lag Behind Larger Counterparts in Security and Unification" was first published on Small Business Trends