The Current Information Security Landscape Of Small Businesses

Today the world revolves around the internet. Cloud computing is changing our lives in many ways. We are, as never before, seeing cloud technology impact our world on many levels. From remote locations to the global center stage, an event can reach the four corners of the planet by going viral. It has never been as easy to look out for long forgotten friends and classmates with the increasing numbers of social networks and websites proposing ways to connect and relate through online communities. Education sectors and health sectors are the mostly benefited as it has made

Small business are said to be the backbone of the United States economy. It said that small businesses contribute to growth and vitality in the specific area of the United States economic development. Small businesses play a huge role in how the business world is shaped. Entrepreneurs are smart, creative and innovative however, those same entrepreneurs need to have some knowledge that the study of microeconomics focuses on. With the study of microeconomics, their product or future business will succeed in an economic view point.

Some key contributions of small business in the U.S. economy is that they create new jobs, create new innovations at twice the rate of their big business counterparts, and they tend to find more opportunities than big companies.

Small businesses are the core of the engine that runs the American economy. They are a very intricate and essential part of what makes America strong. Annually there were approximately 400,000 new small businesses started every year in the United States of America. Before the recession the normal business closure for companies in America were approximately 100,000 annually. This rate of exchange between new and closing businesses is known as “the birth and death rate of American companies”. After the recession the death rate of businesses in the United States has increase exponentially, growing from 100,000 companies a year to approximately 470,000 companies closing annually (Joseph, 2014). Most may think this is a result of the recession,

Moreover, now days using information system is not as walking as in the park, it has many new security treats that the company might lose their confidential data, financial and personal information.

While all of these technologies have enabled exciting changes and opportunities for businesses, they have also created a unique set of challenges for business managers. Chief among all concerns about technology is the issue of information security. It seems to be almost a weekly occurrence to see a news article about yet another breach of security and loss of sensitive data. Many people will remember high profile data breaches from companies such as T.J Maxx, Boston Market, Sports Authority, and OfficeMax. In the case of T.J. Maxx, a data breach resulted in the loss of more than 45 million credit and debit card numbers. In many of these incidents, the root cause is a lack of adequate security practices within the company. The same technologies that enable managers can also be used against them. Because of this, businesses must take appropriate steps to ensure their data remains secure and their communications remain

Innovations in technology can force a business to change just to keep up. Employees who have never used computers need to be trained to operate the new computer system. A business also can benefit by implementing a technological change. According to the Hotel Online website, the airlines

Small businesses are generally started by an entrepreneur portraying their idea to the public and selling for a profit, beginning with a micro business, sole proprieter or a partnership. This will eventually evolve into a small business if they hire more employees. As more employees are hired, this adds to their quality of life through giving a sense of self worth to those employed. Innovation is important to small businesses, as it opens doors into oppertunities for future endeavours. Innovation will allow a business to predict possible future needs and to fulfull these before other competitve businesses do.

The first is the great need for small businesses for future economic growth, locally and internationally. There is a tremendous need for small business to keep up with technological advances and environmental changes. Small business can innovate and create new jobs at a faster rate than their larger competitors. Unfortunately, living in times of high crime, recurrent

Numerous large businesses that are operating today were once started as small businesses. A new business is established to create a good or service that no other businesses have ever created or simply a product of higher quality than existing products, with the purpose of meeting customers’ needs and earning profits. Due to the technological advances at the present time, starting and operating a new business is less laborious. Nevertheless, would-be entrepreneurs should be familiar with the proper approaches to start their businesses.

Small businesses are mighty minnows, reflecting the competitive spirit that a market economy needs for efficiency; they provide an outlet for entrepreneurial talents, a wider range of consumer goods and services, a check to monopoly inefficiency a source of innovation, and a seedbed for new industries; they allow an economy to be more adaptable to structural change through continuous initiatives embodying new technologies, skills, processes, or products (Ibielski 1997, p. 1).

CHANGE is the only constant in the relationship between information systems and organizations. As technology evolves and changes, its introduction into organizations requires changes in the firm 's infrastructure and the services it can provide to its employees, customers, and suppliers.

Small businesses are important to the U.S economy for multiple reasons. According to the U.S Small Business Administration, small businesses represents for 99.7 percent of all employer firms, have generated sixty four percent of new jobs and paid forty four percent of the total united states payroll (Brown, 2017) . Small business is an important role not just in the US economy, but they also play a major role in the growth of the individual community that they are located in. Small businesses give citizens of the community an opportunity for employment by offering jobs that the individuals may not have to have degrees or accolades to qualify for unlike jobs in larger corporations. Although small business is very important to the economy and the community, often times small

The web has played more than a significant role in this era. Today, many people prefer to buy things online because it provides an effortless way for them to purchase their favorite products without having to go to the store and go through things like a bad service or deal with an angry employee. Many of these online stores provide great products that are creative, inexpensive and affordable, making the customers feel unique and special every time they purchase an item. However, this simplicity that these online stores provide affects negatively small businesses and organizations. Because of their reduced cost of products, online retailers can offer customers a wider range of products at prices that are competitive with the traditional stores. This can lead to “showrooming, in which customers browse the products they want in the traditional stores, but purchase it online for a cheaper price, affecting mostly small stores or organizations(Storm). Furthermore, business communication might be faster and easier over the internet, but the lack of face-to-face communication sometimes leads to the perception of a company as uncaring and impersonal. Similarly, employees who only communicate with managers and co-workers through email may feel discouraged and become less productive in the investment of the company’s success(Storm). Another negative impact that internet has on organizations and small businesses is the leaking of sensitive information. When business or organizations are conducted over the Internet, technical malfunctions or malicious hackers can expose sensitive data, such as addresses, passwords, credit card details or bank account details. Causing bad

The importance of small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in the economy of any country cannot be overlooked. In fact for nearly 15 years, most researchers dealing with economic planning have highlighted the significance of these enterprises stating that they are a key player in realizing any country’s economic goals. As such, governments as well as other organizations with interest in development are laying plans and strategies to promote the establishment of Small and Micro Enterprises. This is seen as a move to ensure that there is full participation of SMEs in the country’s economy. The Small and Micro Enterprises have been known to contribute to a large extend as a source of innovation, entrepreneurial skills as well as source of employment. For example, statistics in 25countries of the European Union show that 99% of the jobs provided to its citizens come from the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Rowe (2008) points out that the British economy relies heavily on the participation of SMEs. On the other hand, 99% of the UK’s economy is composed of small and micro enterprises.