are protecting against potential security and
customer data risks. Start by considering
how you are planning for regulatory
requirements, security and data privacy.
When compared to larger organisations,
though many do not realise it, SMBs are at
equal risk of cyberattack. Cybercriminals
are looking for high-value customer data, How partners can reduce the risk of
customers’ digital efforts
which is stored by both SMBs and larger
enterprises. However, adversaries are also
aware that SMBs are typically less equipped
to defend against attacks – making these
organisations an easy target.
At the same time, as your customers
enable digital engagements with new tools
and technologies, they also continue to
add complexity to their networks. These
efforts can easily result in a disorganised
infrastructure that can not only harm
productivity across locations and hinder
visibility into data storage and usage, but
also complicate establishing the
visibility and control necessary to secure
their infrastructure.
Take for example distributed cloud and
multi-cloud environments. Without due care
taken beforehand, these new networking
trends can ultimately complicate your
customers’ ability to identify abnormal
behaviour and detect breaches.
When adopting new tools, your
customers must also account for regulatory
standards that accompany their use, such as
GDPR. In the instances of cloud computing
or CRMs that store consumer data, security
must meet even more stringent standards
in order to remain compliant. Non-compliant
tools leave your clients at risk for penalties
and fines.
Partners need to ensure that customers
have the resources in place to protect
consumer data and secure the technologies
they use for digital engagements. Additionally,
your customers must have the ability to
support operations and performance should
digital efforts be disturbed, while continuing
to meet regulatory requirements. investment. Partners stand to earn a share
of this investment if they can successfully
reduce risk along their customers’ path to
Digital Transformation.
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By offering the tools needed to secure
new technology deployments, as well
as services and expertise, partners can
assist in areas where SMB customers lack
resources. For the year 2019, 47% of SMBs
have noted information security as a priority
Secure digitisation by providing
necessary tools
SMBs need to keep their networks
secure as they deploy cloud technologies,
integrate third-party CRM tools, and
allow for accessibility from IoT and mobile
devices. Fortinet partners can offer unique
coverage in each of these areas by providing
customers with integrated tools that offer
security-spanning endpoints, LAN, cloud and
other environments with single-pane-of-
glass visibility.
Fortinet’s FortiGate Unified Threat
Management, for example, can be installed
on customer networks within 20 minutes.
This solution works to stop attacks before
they get the chance to enter the network.
Digitisation can further be enabled for SMB
customers through FortiAP and FortiSwitch,
which extend security to the network edge,
prioritise applications for optimal traffic
flow, and add extra switch ports for offices
with more devices.
The fact is, many SMBs have turned
to the cloud because it offers speed of
growth and digitisation at low upfront
costs. Partners can aid in their deployment
of cloud environments by assisting
customers with their understanding of
their cloud exposure and by demonstrating
the right tools and processes necessary
for security. This effort should begin with
a strong identity and access management
process, and incorporate the use of web
application firewalls (WAFs) and CASBs
where necessary.
Additionally, FortiClient endpoint security
enables mobility by securing the expansion
of IoT devices and maintaining visibility into
various endpoints, protecting these devices
with high-impact threat prevention.
Extend services and expertise
In addition to providing tools, partners
can help SMBs by offering enterprise-
grade services and protections from
FortiGuard Labs as their customers shift to
a service-oriented business model. These
services include customisable offerings
such as cloud sandboxing, mobile security,
application control, antispam, intrusion
prevention and more.
Offering valuable insight, partners
can support SMB customers to minimise
downtime in the event of a security
incident by ensuring that they can maintain
productivity. Partners can also help by
providing guidance and actionable insights
to assist in regulatory compliance.
Fortinet helps our partners meet the
needs of SMB customers by crafting
specialised contracts and offering support
and expertise. Additionally, partners
can provide a wide range of resources
including product training, technical
support and more.
Final thoughts
SMB organisations are using new tools
to support the Digital Transformation
efforts of their customers to expand their
networks. While these efforts present
real value to small to midsized businesses,
taking shortcuts in relation to deployment
and security can create unnecessary risks
for these organisations. By leveraging
the right tools and services, partners can
play a key role in enabling SMB customers
to modernise their networks while
simultaneously reducing complexity and
mitigating security and compliance risks.