In recent blogs, we’ve discussed the growing threat landscape for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), from the rise of Business Email Compromise (BEC) and ransomware to the challenges of securing hybrid work environments. For SMBs using cloud-based systems like Sage ERP, navigating these risks requires more than just traditional security measures — it demands a strategy built for today’s cloud-driven world.
At Cloud at Work, we believe a strong cloud security posture rests on four essential pillars: Speed, Skills, Scale, and Spend. These pillars provide a roadmap for your business to effectively secure its cloud environments, helping you adapt to fast-changing threats, build the necessary expertise, and scale protections as you grow. Let’s take a closer look at how these best practices can help your business stay secure in the cloud.
1. Speed: Reacting Quickly to Stay Ahead of Threats
In a world where cyber threats evolve daily, your ability to respond quickly can make all the difference. Speed in cloud security means more than just rapid response to breaches — it includes deploying patches quickly, monitoring in real-time, and having a well-oiled incident response plan in place.
Why It Matters
Fast action is essential to minimize damage. On average, a technically proficient hacker takes just six hours to exploit a vulnerability. Your response time matters since downtime can cost an SMB tens of thousands of dollars a day. According to industry insights, data breaches at organizations with a high level of incident response planning cost 34% less than those at organizations with low or no incident response planning.
How Cloud at Work Helps
With our managed services, SMBs benefit from real-time monitoring and rapid threat detection, allowing them to react quickly without needing a sizeable in-house security team.
2. Skills: Building a Team of Cloud Security Experts
A significant challenge for SMBs today is the cybersecurity skills gap. Many businesses struggle to maintain effective cloud security measures due to a shortage of skilled professionals. Skills are essential for managing cloud security effectively, yet finding and retaining the right talent remains a struggle.
Why It Matters
IDC predicts the global cybersecurity talent shortage will reach 4 million by 2025, and Gartner found that the talent shortage is the more significant barrier to adopting new technologies. Without the right expertise, even advanced security tools can fall short.
How Cloud at Work Helps
Partnering with Cloud at Work gives you access to a team of cloud security experts specializing in protecting cloud environments. We provide the knowledge and resources to safeguard your data, allowing you to focus on your core business.
3. Scale: Adapting to Growth Without Compromising Security
As your business grows, so do your security needs. The ability to scale your security measures to match business expansion is essential for long-term success. More data, users, and connected devices mean that security must evolve along with your business.
Why It Matters
Scalability is crucial for ensuring security remains effective as the organization — and its attack surface — expands. A growing business needs adaptable security controls, especially as it increases in complexity.
How Cloud at Work Helps
Cloud-based security lets businesses utilize automated threat detection and remediation while scaling securely as needs and industry regulations change. Our virtual private cloud hosting for Sage ERP applications is built to scale alongside your business. This ensures that you have consistent protection at every stage without requiring extensive infrastructure changes.
4. Spend: Investing Wisely in Cloud Security
For SMBs, cloud security is an investment, and understanding how to allocate resources effectively is critical. Spend refers to managing the costs of cloud security tools and services, balancing protection with budget constraints. An industry-accepted “rule” is that a business should spend between 7% and 20% of its IT budget on cybersecurity.
Why It Matters
Budget limitations impact the ability to adopt robust security solutions. Unsurprisingly, smaller organizations struggle more with rising cybersecurity costs than their larger counterparts. Regardless of your business size, optimizing your spending is essential to protecting key assets without overspending.
How Cloud at Work Helps
We offer tailored security solutions that fit your specific needs and budget. By providing predictable pricing for our managed services, we help you secure your cloud environment without unnecessary costs, allowing you to invest where it matters most.
The Cloud at Work Advantage
Managing these four pillars — Speed, Skills, Scale, and Spend — can be challenging, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. Cloud at Work helps SMBs navigate these complexities by offering managed cloud security tailored to Sage ERP environments. Our approach ensures that your cloud infrastructure remains secure, flexible, and cost-effective, allowing you to focus on confidently growing your business.
Want to learn more about how Cloud at Work can help you strengthen your cloud security strategy? Contact us to find out how we can protect your business in a rapidly changing threat landscape.