If someone were to give you money to put towards one aspect of your small business, which would you choose? Would you hire more staff? Would you modernize your office or improve inventory? What about marketing? You could surely use more promotion to get your business’s message out there. However, none of these matter if you don’t have up-to-date antivirus protection or a strong small business firewall. Here’s why.

More and more hackers are going after small businesses to get valuable information. These hackers are going after small businesses because they don’t have the security measures in place that larger companies have, and it can prove to be very costly. By hacking into computerized cash registers from another part of the world, hackers can walk away with credit card numbers, names, addresses and more. This information could be used to make fraudulent charges in the thousands of dollars.

In this story described here, one small business owner out of Chicago had his cash registers hacked, and credit card numbers were sent to Russia where they could be used to make fraudulent charges. MasterCard did not take too kindly to this and made the owner pay for the $22,000 investigation.

The owner was lucky that this didn't put him under. Some never come back after a hacking, and it’s not really their fault. Many small businesses do not have the money or resources to combat hackers. In 2010, 63 percent of all cybercrimes were done to businesses with employees of 100 or less. These are businesses that can’t afford the start-up fees of a network upgrade or ongoing upkeep costs. So what should small businesses do to protect their businesses without spending a small fortune in hardware and software upgrades?

An easy way for a business to protect itself is by looking into a hybrid cloud introduction model such as FLEXcloud among others. With a hybrid cloud, you get all of the benefits of cloud computing – including up-to-date antivirus software, state of the art firewall defenses, 100% up-time  and network reliability – without the costs of starting your own. Your network hardware will be connected to the cloud, and all you’ll spend is a small fee each month, depending on the number of users. Models like FLEXcloud allow you to stay one step ahead of the game against those trying to ruin your way of life.  

When many small businesses do their research to figure out what’s the best IT networking solution for them, one apprehension that will certainly come into play is security. In a hybrid cloud, the infrastructure is generally public, so this might lead some to question how safe their data and personal files are on the cloud.

We here at FLEXcloud understand these concerns, and one of the cornerstones of our philosophy is to give our customers peace of mind when they enter the cloud.  In order to deliver on this promise, we constructed our own state of the art firewall for small businesses.  Our firewall and virus protection software is the most current on the market. This will ensure that although you may share infrastructure with others, your data is private and secure.

In addition to our small business firewall, we have employed several methods to handle any threat, whether it is an attempted intrusion or hacking, or a natural disaster that disrupts your access to the cloud. These include

·         24/7 monitoring and instant alerts to FLEXcloud technical support for attempted intrusions.

·         Industry-standard network management and documentation.

·         Remote backup of your onsite server data to the cloud. This will ensure that even if the worst happens and your computer is stolen or there is a fire or natural disaster, your data will be secure and available.

We take the protection of your data and personal files seriously, and that’s why we have developed the firewall and operating procedures necessary to keep them secure. When you partner up with FLEXcloud, you can enjoy the benefits of the cloud with the peace of mind of knowing your data is safe.

For a small business, upgrading your IT network is a Catch-22. On one hand, you need it. Older technologies can be prone to outages, security breaches and shoddy operations. With the growing need of effective data storage and backup as well as 24/7 IT support, your business will surely suffer if you don’t have up to date technologies. You could suffer an outage or a loss of data, which equals a loss of customers and revenue. Upgrading your IT network is a necessity you can’t afford to go without.

However, there’s the matter of cost. You may not be able to afford to go without it, but can you afford to do it either? Small businesses often have a very thin margin and simply can’t afford nor have the space for new hardware. Add in the costs of software licensing fees and several IT professionals to handle your day to day operations, and even larger companies may find these costs and space issues burdensome too.

This is where hybrid cloud computing can give your business a competitive edge without sacrificing too much in cost. When you jump to the cloud with FLEXcloud, you get up to date hardware, the newest software and complete 24/7 IT support for a small monthly fee.  On top of that, as new software updates and technologies emerge, your business will be on the forefront – how many of your competitors can say that?

If you want to stay competitive in your industry but are afraid of the costs associated with being current, FLEXcloud can help you achieve your goals. Learn more about the FLEXcloud advantage here or call us today at 1-855-456-3539.