Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) make a significant contribution to the Australian economy. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as at June 2015, there were 2,066,086 small businesses nationwide.*(1). In some states such as Western Australia, small businesses represent 97% of all businesses.*(2) Cyber security is as important for these companies as it is for large […]
By 2020, one in three successful cyber-attacks on organisations will be via shadow IT (Gartner) – in other words, the apps and software employees use without their employer’s approval or authorisation. According to Vaughan Klein, Regional Manager of Collaboration at Cisco Australia and New Zealand, the billions of dollars Australian businesses invest in security annually […]
Due to the increasing prevalence of cyberattacks on SMBs, information security has never been more important. When it comes to mitigating security risks, soccer – arguably the world’s most popular team sport – is full of useful insights for these businesses. Specifically, the key positions on a soccer roster are analogous with the different information security roles people play in […]
If you’ve bought into the hype that’s surrounded cloud computing for the past few years, you’ll likely think it’s the answer to every IT director’s prayers. Cloud platform vendors promise to lower costs with greater flexibility while service providers highlight improvements in workforce productivity and lower management overheads. While this might seem like cause to celebrate, it’s not necessarily the reality. The […]
Cloud computing has transformed almost every aspect of business IT, and call centres are the next sector ripe for cloud adoption. For SMBs, cloud contact centres are particularly attractive, offering lower costs, greater flexibility and the capacity to have an enterprise-class system catering to a smaller organisation. Call centres have undergone major transformations in the […]
It almost goes with saying that as-a-service IT models of various kinds are now widely available and becoming increasingly accepted, leading to numerous acronyms being coined, from SaaS and IaaS to PaaS and XaaS. To provide the preferred software to a number of departments such as marketing, finance, logistics, and others, many organisations now choose to […]
Australian businesses spend considerable time and money protecting themselves from external security threats, but it’s important to remember that there are also threats within. While viruses, phishing and ransomware attacks are constantly top-of-mind when it comes to securing IT infrastructures, steps must also be taken to protect them from staff. Unfortunately, they can cause just […]
In 2015, millennials became the biggest cohort in the Australian workforce [i], signalling a major shift in the way small businesses engage staff. This highly connected, constantly switched-on generation expect instant access to technology which is forcing businesses to rethink the way they work. Offering more flexible work environments will be key to attracting and retaining the best […]
Optus has launched an online marketplace of cloud software applications for SMBs seeking to improve business efficiency by reducing the burden of time-consuming tasks such as creating invoices, managing expenses and providing access to documents. In addition to offering a suite of business apps and services, Optus Smart Shop includes a 24-hour IT support line […]
Headline-making cyberattacks have driven significant increases in cyber security awareness in the business world but this hasn’t necessary led to best practice security measures being enforced, according to CyberArk. The information security company commissioned independent research firm Vanson Bourne to undertake a survey of 750 IT and IT security decision makers, worldwide, examining whether […]
