SMEs need bespoke cybersecurity to protect themselves and their customers. But with so many other costs to bear, how can they afford it? Alternative finance can help.

Business cybersecurity has rarely been out of the headlines over the last year, with data protection and GDPR compliance notably dominating news feeds and inboxes of late. There has been no shortage of stories about what businesses should be doing and what can happen to them if they don’t. However, there has been much less information on how they can do it.

And the how is very as important for small businesses, not only because they have fewer resources to invest in protection, but also because it has become clear that they need bespoke cybersecurity. Learning, software and hardware aimed at larger firms aren’t a good fit – small business owners don’t have the same knowledge, resources, time and budget, and as a result they need products and services designed specifically for them.

There is certainly a gap in the market for bespoke SME cybersecurity, but it is unlikely to be empty for long, and these products and services are unlikely to come cheaply. And this is where it gets problematic for small business owners, who must already manage costs relating to pension auto-enrolment, recent apprenticeship and living wage legislation and business rates reform, as well as the impact of Brexit-borne market uncertainty.

Alternative finance can help small business raise the funds for investment in learning and resources, such as bespoke SME cybersecurity. This is how a Sussex small business used peer-to-peer lending, through a commercial finance broker than specialises in alternative finance, to raise the money to buy new equipment.

Services such as invoice finance, asset finance, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding are helping small businesses access much-needed capital for development-focused investment and to safeguard cashflow. In the face of varying degrees of caution from traditional lenders, alternative finance is accessible, affordable and flexible.

And with margins being constantly squeezed by underwhelming market conditions and a raft of policy and non-policy costs, such as cybersecurity, this is what small business owners need.

To find out more about A&T Business Associates services, contact Tony on 01903 602211 or tony@atbusinessassociates.co.uk.