The IAM Imperative: Through An SMB’s Eyes

Today’s MNCs were once small or medium businesses (SMBs). Small and medium businesses are the proving ground for emerging technology, as they have tight budgets and require specific, targeted functionality that suits their style and processes. Once products and solutions pass this litmus test, they start becoming more mainstream, being absorbed more widely by companies and consumers.

Recent trends indicate that SMBs are making full use of cloud computing and harnessing the technology’s advantages to maximize their operational efficiency as well as service and product offerings. However, in this race to achieve maximum efficiency, SMBs tend to overlook the security needs of their network. This is especially the case when it comes to SMBs in developing nations in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America. SMBs in these developing nations place very little to no emphasis on implementing cloud security solutions like an Identity and Access Management (IAM) system across their network. Let’s take a deeper look into this by first understanding what IAM can do for SMBs.

What IAM can do for SMBs

Employees, even those belonging to SMBs, are often required to remember several sets of credentials for all the different applications they use on a day-to-day basis. As a result of this, employees tend to set easy-to-remember passwords, which is a sure-fire way to make your network an easy target for hackers. The single sign-on and password policy enforcement capabilities of an IAM solution can mitigate this problem by requiring only one set of credentials per user while also giving your organization the authority to set password rules.

For access to business-critical data, IAMs also allow the admins of a network to implement two-factor authentication. IAMs can easily integrate with biometric verification devices like fingerprint scanners, retina scanners or facial recognition cameras to provide your network with a second, more powerful layer or security.

While smaller businesses might not require all the features of a power-packed IAM solution, a compact and lighter IAM system should definitely be considered as a necessity.

Why is network security not seen as a priority?

Businesses in developing nations are still largely labor and farm-based. In countries like India, more than 60% of the population depends on income derived from agriculture and farming. Another large chunk of the working population is employed in factories, mines, and other blue collar jobs. In such industries, the need for network security solutions like an IAM system is lost without the necessary IT infrastructure being in place.

With a very small portion of the working population involved service- or product-based businesses, the traffic coming in and going out of their business network is manually manageable, further reducing the requirement for an IAM system. SMBs in developing nations, sometimes also lack the technical know-how to realize that network security is just as important as IT infrastructure.

An important factor affecting the implementation of security solutions like IAM by SMBs in developing nations is that investment is scarce. Any investment in IT infrastructure is usually diverted towards solutions that support operations, rather than network security. This holds true for companies as well as government organizations.

In addition, business operations are often conducted in a more ad hoc or unplanned way. It naturally becomes harder for companies to look beyond immediate problems to longer-term solutions.

Most importantly, however, as a general rule, SMBs in developing nations show more reluctance to adapt to high-end technology, especially when compared to SMBs in developed nations. A glance at the bigger picture clearly indicates that technologies used by SMBs in developing countries lack capabilities their counterparts in developed nations enjoy. A similar trend holds true for network security – companies show resistance to adopting the technology.

Does that mean it’s okay to compromise on security?

Definitely not! Irrespective of where your company is located, a formidable network security solution makes you more reliable and accountable. Companies must acknowledge that breaches are becoming increasingly common, and a strong IAM solution is indispensable.

With light-weight, customizable and easy-to-setup cloud security solutions like Akku from CloudNow Technologies, all these hurdles can be overcome easily and efficiently.

While you wait for your competitors to catch up, you can advance your security with an Identity and Access Management (IAM) system which can safeguard your business-critical data, saving your business from data breaches and security hacks.

Akku is affordable, customizable and light on data consumption and resource requirements. With its easy-to-use admin controls, you can take ownership of the instances coming in and going out of your system. The neat and clean cloud security solution allows you to use only the features you want, instead of requiring heavy pieces of unwanted software to be installed on your system.

Irrespective of the type of industry your business belongs to, Akku gives you autocratic control of your cloud by restricting illegitimate user requests, implementing DNS filters, and putting a powerful multi-factor authentication feature into effect. It also helps improve employee productivity by blocking personal emails and YouTube access at work.

To greatly improve your network’s security and overall operational efficiency, get in touch with us today!
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