Owning and operating a business can be difficult enough without facing a number of major threats that actually have little to do with the way you are running your company. The biggest threats today often come from outside. With that said, there are some things you can do to mitigate some, if not all, of the damage these threats can cause. Unfortunately, there are some threats there really is no solution for except to strengthen your lines of defence.
1. Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is something that every business, large or small, must come to terms with. There is nothing you can do to put a halt to all the threats being devised every day of the week. Sometimes the threat comes in the form of a hack intent on the theft of information or databases. Other times it is malware with the sole purpose of creating havoc on a company’s system but in all cases, the only thing you can do is build an impenetrable wall so that hackers can’t access your company’s network. Cybersecurity services like those offered by Dial a Geek in Bristol can take on the task. From building firewalls to ridding a worm that may have already infected the mainframe, cybersecurity protections are worth their weight in gold. Fortunately, with adequate protection, you may finally see more of that gold!
2. Volatile Economy
Across the pond, there are several market analysts who say the end is near. They fear Armageddon in the economy because inflation is growing at the fastest rate in 100 years. Some not only fear a recession is imminent but also that it just might be another Depression to rival anything we have ever seen. Many commodities are doubling in costs within a matter of weeks and there is no end in sight to the exponential price increases consumers are facing. Conversely, there are other analysts who feel the threat is minimal. In any case, if there is another recession of the magnitude of that in 2008, it will almost certainly trickle down to all economies around the globe.
3. A New Kind of Workforce
For just a moment, consider how the digital climate in which the newest generation of workers has grown up. This is actually the first generation to have been born and raised through to adulthood well-rooted in technology and connectivity. Whereas older workers are reluctant to work remotely, younger workers are totally in their element online. Today’s workforce, then, is nothing like it has ever been. Companies are now tasked with finding top talent who can handle the job vacancies they are trying to fill. As a result, today’s workforce is actually a global workforce because the most experienced candidates may be in any country around the globe.
4. Global Competition
Speaking of a global workforce, this calls to mind the massive increase in competition today’s businesses face. The very same internet that is changing the face of today’s workforce is also changing how businesses must step up marketing efforts to reach a global marketplace. This is, again, something ‘new’ to this generation. There was a time when businesses focused their marketing resources on a more local audience. Now with globalization in everything from recruitment to sales and services, increasing the reach of marketing efforts will be a company’s main focus in the months and years to come.
5. The Rapidity of Change
This is also something that is going to be difficult to deal with. There is no way to call a halt to progress, and who would want to? However, the sheer speed at which so many advances are happening is extremely challenging to businesses old and new. It seems as though the moment we become almost comfortable with advances in technology, for example, they’ve advanced again. This starts the process of learning all over again, which leaves many businesses feeling like they are on a perpetual treadmill. In fact, this probably is the case! The only thing that can be done is to provide educational resources to key employees within your company. In this way, you will at least have ‘trainers’ to keep everyone else informed.
While cybersecurity poses the most immediate threat and one you cannot procrastinate on dealing with, the other four major threats will need to be dealt with soon enough. Your key takeaway in all this is best said in the words of a time-worn cliché from across the pond. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
