Symantec Corp. has completed the formation of a world-class organisation dedicated entirely to small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and the partners who serve them, with a focus on making it easy for SMBs to protect their information and move their business forward with confidence.
New and emerging businesses contribute a significant percentage of the innovative products and services that transform the way we work, live, and play today. However, SMBs are faced with a number of challenges that can prevent them from being the unfettered engines of growth, innovation and prosperity. The abundance of technology and barrage of information can create tremendous opportunity while at the same time bring immense perplexity and greater risk. In fact, 71-percent of SMBs that suffer from a cyber attack never recover – it’s fatal. And according to Symantec’s recent Internet Security Threat Report, 18-percent of all targeted attacks are directed at businesses with 250 or fewer employees. What’s worse, because of the importance of connectivity and collaboration through Web, email, social networks and online applications, their behaviour also makes them four times more at risk of malware attacks than their larger counterparts.
However despite increased risk, for some SMBs, buying, deploying and managing security, storage and backup systems is just too complicated for them to devote the time, money and energy. So they cross their fingers and wing it.
Enter Symantec, which began a variety of SMB-specific initiatives last September and has completed the creation of a dedicated SMB team whose mission is to redefine how SMBs safeguard their information by providing 360 degrees of protection – from Web browsing and online transactions, to email and collaboration, to backup and recovery – in a way that’s easy to purchase, deploy, manage and support. Led by Group President Rowan Trollope, the new organisation brings together SMB experts who not only understand the specific needs of SMBs and the partners who sell to them, but are wholly focused on serving, enabling, helping and protecting this important business community around the world. Working closely together, the team is channeling their passion and knowledge into the design and delivery of Symantec’s SMB products; marketing, communication and support; as well as delivering white-glove treatment to partners with hands-on enablement and significant financial incentives.
Complete information protection built specifically for SMBs
Today’s SMBs are looking for speed, ease of deployment and an amazing user experience, which is why Symantec is radically simplifying its SMB product portfolio to make it easier than ever to buy, set-up, manage and receive support for Symantec products. SMB customers using Symantec’s on-premise and cloud SMB solutions can be up and running within 20 minutes or less, making information protection fast and easy so customers can focus on innovation and growing their business. In addition, Symantec’s SMB team is developing new solutions that will address emerging business needs, integrate technologies, deliver a more dynamic user experience, and simplify the overall purchasing and subscription process. These solutions are slated to be rolled out through the second half of 2012.
Symantec also recognises the enormous opportunities for the many partners that serve the SMB market, and offers customised programs and substantial sales incentives to help them gain a competitive advantage and accelerate their business.
