Cyber Defense Minute: How SMBs Can Build A Safer Cloud Practice

Security concerns are everywhere these days, even impacting how small to midsized businesses approach their adoption of cloud technology.

According to Symantec research, one in three SMBs have chosen not to adopt cloud technology because of security concerns.

There’s validity in those security concerns, as 61 percent of security attacks target SMBs, giving them reason to worry about transferring their data to the cloud. On top of that, the risk of a security breach grows with the increase of mobile devices in the workplace.

That’s where you come in as the trusted advisor.

“From our partners’ perspective, I think there is an education that needs to take place for these customers, so they understand how much at risk they are,” says Nanhi Singh, vice president of global small business sales and customer experience at Symantec. “[Customers] are really looking for partners to provide a complete service to them. We as a security vendor have to fit into the offerings that these partners bring to these customers.”

Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud protects customers’ data on all devices. And, partners can manage their customers’ cloud environments through a single pane of glass on Symantec’s Partner Management Console. “We have enabled a lot of features within the Partner Management Console that allow the partner to act on behalf of the customer,” says Singh.

Solution providers have the flexibility to sell SEP Cloud per user or per device based on their customers’ needs. Partners can also earn additional margin on top of selling SEP Cloud through Symantec’s various rebate programs. “We recognize that our small business partners have to work with very slim margins, so we’re very conscious of that. We have priced and built the margin models for SEP Cloud based on that,” says Singh.

According to Forbes, only one in four organizations trust the cloud to keep their data secure. However, partners must have conversations with their customers about adopting cloud technology in order to keep them safe. This way, they are also kept top of mind as their customers’ trusted advisor.

Learn More: Cloud Security| Cloud Software| Cloud Platforms| Application and Platform Security| Network Security

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