Here are Some of The Crucial Challenges Small Businesses Face That are Identified By CRESCENTEK, While Providing Solutions for Them Too.

• Solo client dependence can prove disastrous for small businesses,  even though it may seem god sent at the beginning. True, you got hold of a generous well paying client even before you might have established yourself in the market and thank your lucky stars for such an advantageous situation. But things may not be so gainful in the long run because of reasons cited below. Besides, have you ever wondered that by providing the one and only client with products or  services you are practically acting as a sub-contractor for the customer instead of having a business relations with him. And by  way of acting as such, you have made yourself very vulnerable before the client.  He may issue terms and conditions that are difficult for you to honor or insist on prices not acceptable to you. The worst part of the whole story involves sudden alterations in product specification. For instance, your beverage packing client for whom you had been supplying glass bottles abruptly decides to pack his products in plastic bottle, and you go kaput the next day.
• So, the answer is to create a larger customer base and be content with it even if some of them are stringent paymasters, instead of a well paying solo client who may vanish from your radar screen all on a sudden, leaving you high and dry.
• Cyber attacks and demand for ransom is yet another challenge for small businesses now. While 82 per cent of small business owners thought that they were not targeted for cyber attacks, 43 percent of last year’s cyber attacks targeted most of them. Unbelievable yet true, a single attack can cost up to $99,000.
• According to NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance), cyber attacks of various types are on the rise with data breaches increasing 15 per cent over the past year, while ransomware attacks freeze up businesses’
• systems until they pay the ransom which had become prevalent in the first three months of 2016. What is more, U.S. ransomware victims paid out $209 million attackers, as against $25 million for  all of 2015.

 

Nevertheless, there are quite a few steps that small businesses can take to protect themselves from such hazards that do not prove knotty or pricy. For instance, any small business with more than one internet-connected device may opt for a network security solution such as:

Endian Firewall – Even though Endian offers paid security products as also a free, open source version known as Endian Firewall Community, the company recommends the use of the paid professional product for businesses in general,  while the free version is good enough for small businesses.

It has reportedly been downloaded 1.7 million times and can be installed in any x86 PC. In other words, if you have an old PC installed in your office, you can have the benefits of Endian in the form of a Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance. It will include a firewall, email and Web filtering, anti-virus, a VPN solution for remote access, live network monitoring and reporting, alerts, an intrusion preventing system ((IPS), Quality of Service (Q0S) features and multi-WAN capabilities.

Untangle NG Firewall has been designed to function somewhat like an app store – a user can install only the functionality needed or go for the complete package. While some of the apps are free, others need a fee.

The free and open source apps include a firewall, intrusion prevention, phish blocker, lite version of the virus blocker, ad blocker, lite version of application control, lite version of the spam blocker, lite version of the Web filter, a captive portal, a VPN, and reporting. The paid version adds the full version of the lite tools, plus an SSL inspector, bandwidth control, WAN balancer, WAN failover, Web cache, IPsec VPN, directory connector, policy manager, and support

ClearOS – If you also need server features in addition to security, this proves to be a good option. It is a full server operating system that comprises features such as intrusion detection, content filtering, a firewall, bandwidth management, a domain controller, a mail server, a print and file server, and much more. It has a modular architecture, meaning that you can install just the features that you need without slowing the system down with a bloated piece of software.

 

Postscript:

To run a small business satisfactorily today you not only need to take advantage social media but also derive the benefits from technological advancement to become attuned to your target audience. As a startup, you may have to face a lot of challenges, but there are solutions too tackle these hurdles. All you need to do is to become alert and watchful.