What is IT Capability?

IT Capability describes an organization’s overall approach to the technological needs of the business. This approach covers everything from the network structure of the business to the security processes that are in place to protect sensitive data.

Having strong IT capability measures means a business can employ effective IT strategies, while providing a solid structure that keeps the business running both smoothly and safely.

Why do SMBs need to adopt and adapt in the Fast Fish Eat the Slow Fish economy?

The world of business used to work in a way known as “big fish eats the small fish.” This referred to small businesses being eaten up or moved aside by larger ones with more people and more money. But nowadays it’s all about speed.

Is your SMB able to adapt to changes fast enough?

If your business is small, but faster at adapting to change than the big businesses around you, it’s much easier for you to get ahead. For this reason, SMBs need to be able to adopt and adapt if they want to get ahead in the fast fish eat the slow fish economy. Being able to implement solid IT capability techniques is one of the best ways to do this.

By adopting the right practices, and adapting to any changes in the economic environment, SMBs can quickly get ahead of those slower to react. These could be smaller businesses, but they could also be massive enterprises that just don’t have the right strategies in place to combat cybersecurity threats.

Do you have the right IT capability strategy in place?

Before you can get ahead of the slow fish, you need to become the fast fish. This means you need to evaluate where in your IT strategy you are slowing yourself down. You need to find out where there are gaps in your network security for example, and you must have a solid action plan should there be a breach.

Do you allow your employees to access any sensitive or confidential data?

Your IT capability strategy involves everyone in your business, and not just the people in your IT or security team. From the bottom to the top of your SMB, you need to ensure everyone is playing the right part.

This means you need to find out where sensitive data is shared and decide if there should be tighter control. Limiting who has access to confidential data greatly reduces the chance of it getting into the wrong hands.

Don’t let IT Capability be the obstacle holding your SMB back

There are 3 key safeguards to close any gaps in your cybersecurity:

Manpower

As we’ve said, your IT capability strategy involves everyone in your business. From the very top at the executive level, to the very bottom, you need everyone to have a cyber aware mindset. Ensure you educate everyone in your organization on the best cybersecurity practices.

From having strong passwords to monitoring phishing attempts, you need to be sure that everyone knows what they should be doing to keep your business’ data safe.

Process

The process is what’s in place to keep your business safe from attacks. This covers things like having a security backup plan and an effective response if you’re hacked. In the unfortunate event that this happens, you need to know how you plan to recover any lost information.

However, you also need to have a plan in place to regain customer confidence if there is a significant breach. If you’re dealing with your customers’ data, you’ll need to convince them that they can trust you with it.

Technology

Finally, you also need to have the right technology in place. Referring to the 5 functions of the cybersecurity framework will ensure you have the right technology available:

Identify

You need to be able to reliably identify cybersecurity risks within your organization. This can involve having the right kind of software installed within your network and educating your staff to recognize the signs of a possible threat.

Protect

You need to be able to protect your business from attacks when they do happen. This means limiting the impact of any threats and having the right safeguards in place.

Detect

Detection of cybersecurity attacks is the first step to solving any problems breaches could cause. Finding them fast is key, as time is always of the essence when dealing with sensitive data breaches.

Respond

If an attack does occur, your business needs to have the right response. This means dealing with the attack quickly and effectively, minimizing the damage caused.

Recover

Once you’ve identified and dealt with any cybersecurity threats, you then need to recover any compromised data. This could be sensitive data or, as we discussed above, it could be the trust of your customers.

Having the right IT capability strategy is the best way to keep your business’ – and your customers’ – data safe.