Findings of AVG’s 2011 SMB Market Landscape Report reveals lack of understanding of the threats posed by business reliance on mobile phone and social networking use. 

MELBOURNE, 4 October 2011 — AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd, the distributor of the award-winning AVG Internet and mobile security software in Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, today announced the findings of this year’s SMB Market Landscape Report. It revealed the glaring gap between the ready adoption of new technologies and the preparedness of small- and medium-size businesses for the associated heightened levels of risk to security.

This annual report, commissioned by AVG and undertaken by GfK NOP, tracks the security attitudes and practices of SMBs with up to 100 employees. The online survey conducted during August 2011 elicited responses from 1,000 ICT managers in the USA and the UK. AVG (AU/NZ) believes the results should alert their Australian counterparts to the global issues of cyber crime and business protection.

Lloyd Borrett, Security Evangelist at AVG (AU/NZ), said: “Businesses must equate online security with corporate governance and brand protection. New mobility technologies and social networking open businesses to opportunities for growth but also introduce the very nasty reality of security breaches and information theft.”

Almost 75 per cent of respondents did not understand the risks posed to their businesses by their organisation’s use of mobile phones. One in three had a profile on a social networking site without taking additional security precautions. The majority of respondents remained focussed on countering the more traditional e-mail and web based malware attacks.

The announcement this month of the latest release of AVG’s robust protection for small- and medium-size businesses, AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012, is the security software answer for today’s ‘Internet active’ SMBs. It addresses the potential impacts of cyber crime while being resource-light and affordable.

Borrett strongly advises anti-virus and Internet protection be kept current for all computers and mobile devices that are brought in or taken home by staff, contractors, clients and visitors. He stresses the importance of properly securing smartphone and tablet devices.

Almost three quarters of SMBs surveyed did not agree that the use of smartphones in business represents a threat to IT security. Yet as Borrett points out, these devices are Internet-connected, highly mobile computers, with vital business and personal information being carried around on them. They can be easily misplaced, lost or stolen. Combine this with a 273% rise in mobile malware in the first half of 2011 and such devices are a growing security risk that SMBs must address quickly. This highlights why AVG has been a pioneer in introducing its AVG Mobilation security solutions for Android smartphones and tablets.

AVG SMB Market Landscape Report 2011

The AVG SMB Market Landscape Report 2011 revealed that:

• SMBs have a more conservative attitude towards IT spending as a response to financial uncertainty. In spite of this there are some pockets where spend has risen against 2011. In the USA it’s the smaller 1–5 employee business whose investment is up, while in the UK it is the medium portion (26–50 employees) of the SMB market spending more.
• SMBs are embracing technologies to increase levels of mobility, though few are aware of the potential dangers associated with bringing data to more devices. One in ten SMBs are now using tablet devices, a threefold increase on 2010.
• SMBs recognise the opportunity social networking offers to promote business and engage with customers, but do not take the proper additional precautions against specific social-media threats. SMBs are most frequently using social networks to engage with their customers, and to disseminate company and product information. However, more than a quarter claim to be using their social networking connections to research trends and gain consumer insights.
• SMBs remain focused on traditional IT vulnerabilities like e-mail and web viruses without safeguarding against emerging IT security threats, such as information theft and social engineering. In 2010 large numbers of SMBs were considering moving their data into the cloud. However, one in six now have concerns about the safety of their data which is stored there.
• SMBs are most concerned about losing access to files and replacing hardware, when security breaches are the costlier risk. SMBs that have already experienced such a breakdown are more likely to have seen the long-term impact, such as loss of sales and revenue opportunities and the man hours lost from reacting to a breach.

The AVG SMB Market Landscape Report showed that SMBs are remarkably consistent in terms of their requirements for security software. They want IT security software to:

• Deliver the right level of protection
• Not impact on business performance
• Work in the background

“As the champions of SMB security, this is just what AVG’s Business Edition 2012 products deliver,” said Borrett. “They’re designed exclusively with the small and medium business in mind. This is why AVG has considerably higher levels of satisfaction amongst small businesses compared to other major brands.”  

AVG Business Edition 2012 Availability and Pricing

The complete AVG 2012 family of SMB products (including AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012 and AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012) is available now at www.avg.com.au, as well as through a large network of independent software resellers throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012 and AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012 are available in five-seat increment multi-packs with one and two year licence periods. Pricing for a one-year, five-seat license for AVG Internet Security Business Edition 2012 is A$317.20. A one-year, five-seat licence for AVG Anti-Virus Business Edition 2012 is A$199.99.

Paid AVG products come complete with free telephone support from the AVG (AU/NZ) support centre in Melbourne, backed up by free technical support by e-mail. 

Keep in touch with AVG (AU/NZ)

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• For security trends, analysis, follow the AVG (AU/NZ) blog at resources.avg.com.au

Further reading: AVG SMB Market Landscape Report 2011 (16 pages, 1.4 Mb, PDF)