Unpredictable threats such as cyberattacks and breakdowns can hit SMEs hard. Investing in robust IT infrastructure, including 5G solutions, can ensure stable operations and protect the business from financial losses and operational disruptions.
From severed undersea cables and a changing threat landscape characterised by international conflicts to more extreme weather, the world has become more unpredictable in recent years.
Therefore, it can be difficult for individual companies to predict exactly what types of security challenges they may face.
Anders Lilholt Petersen, IoT Solution Manager at Three Denmark, shares his thoughts on how SMEs can boost resilience. Anders advises:
What is certain is that as the overall threat landscape changes, companies must also navigate differently. At Three, we experience a growing focus on IT security and preparedness among our business customers. However, it can be difficult for some customers who want a more resilient business to figure out where to start.
Many understandably think about investing in protective software solutions.
However, this is only half of the solution. The other half of the solution is to optimise the company's digital infrastructure itself to protect against everything outside the software aspect.
This can be done in several different ways.
5G solutions can be tailored to prevent crises
One of the strengths of wireless infrastructure solutions is that they provide a lot of flexibility to scale in an easy and secure way that meets the individual company's needs.
If the company has a 5G-based private network, outsiders cannot access it via public networks.
It is completely closed off from the outside world, and the company controls the private network 100 percent.
Here, the IT infrastructure makes life difficult for any hacker, as all devices will be encrypted to ensure a closed system.
With a private 5G network, the company can also lay a digital foundation that allows it to adapt security measures as the company grows larger and has to handle newer and more complex security challenges.
A private network can also be practical if the company has many sensors connected to critical applications. Here, consistent uptime and security are key factors.
In this context, it can be advantageous to use a redundancy solution, i.e., implementing a backup signal that activates if the main signal is interrupted, for example, to critical equipment.
Such a solution can be integrated into the company's digital infrastructure from the start, ensuring that normal operations can be maintained if there are network disruptions. Therefore, we also see at Three that wireless redundancy is gaining more and more traction in our customers' digital transformation.
Prevention is crucial in an unpredictable world
We live in a time where companies' security is more affected than ever by unpredictable threat variables – both digital and physical.
Unplanned downtime is an expensive and business-critical affair and can happen more often if the right security measures are not in place for the company.
It's estimated that the costs associated with ransomware attacks globally will exceed $275 billion by 2031. Therefore, it can make sense for many companies to look at 5G-based infrastructural investments as a measure that significantly reduces the risk of breakdowns.
The more prevention, the lower the likelihood of a critical breakdown caused by increasingly unpredictable risk variables.
Although the pace of investment among SMEs has been increasing in recent years due to a changing risk landscape, they should still ask themselves if they have the right protective solutions in place for their needs.
If not, it is a problem, as about 99 percent of all companies in Europe are SMEs.
A 5G-based infrastructure solution can be the key to ensuring that the company can get a tailored solution that prepares it for a more unpredictable world and frees up time for it to develop its business instead.
Are you an SME exposed to IT infrastructure breakdowns? If so, get in touch using the form below for expert advice on the options available for improved security.
