Indian small and medium sized business (SMBs) units are aware of the need to invest in technology for essential processes like product life cycles, data security, improving transparency, and adopting scalable and flexible solutions, but are held back by budget constraints, according to the findings of a recent study carried out by Symantec Corporation, called the Symantec 2009 SMB Security & Storage survey.
The study reveals that some 3 million SMBs in India are investing in technology; 84 per cent of Indian SMBs are aware of the need to protect information; 81 per cent are aware of the need to protect servers; and 61 per cent were unaware of the different types of present-day IT security threats.
“Our study shows that the SMEs are often unclear about how to go about assessing their technology needs and end up procuring software more on the basis of peer-reviews rather than analysing their own specific business needs. Businesses also lack staff time and dedicated IT staff. Owners are reluctant to adopt technology, as they are not technology savvy. Added to this is the fact that security is dynamic — knowledge and software that currently seems adequate soon becomes obsolete,” says Ajay Verma, director, Channels & Alliances, Symantec India.
Finding skilled professionals has always been a problem. Controlling cash flow while creating able staff to run business processes successfully can be a challenge. The data shows that awareness is not an issue; but the awareness has not translated into users deploying solutions that effectively protect their corporate data.