Bringing network stability and security back to businesses big and small

If you remember the pre-pandemic fun of dining out in a Chinese restaurant, then you probably also know that, at the end of the meal, nobody wants to break open the fortune cookie to read, “May you live in interesting times.”

While seemingly a blessing, this English expression, which purports to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse, is quite often used ironically. As most of us now realize, life is better in the “uninteresting times” of peace and tranquility, rather than in the “interesting” times of pandemic and economic uncertainty.

For many businesses big and small, these are interesting times, indeed. The rules have changed. Some seemingly invincible “blue chip” businesses are now hitting hard times, while others, such as those in telehealth and e-commerce, are prospering, answering new, critical needs in the market.

Either way, businesses all over the world are facing new challenges on the digital front, which have been brewing for a while now.

The Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report showed that 43% of all cyberattacks were against small and medium businesses (SMBs). To add to that, the dramatic increase in online attacks brought on by COVID-19 has left them even more vulnerable.

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SMBs are aware of these dangers and many are turning to their communication service providers (CSPs) for a solution. CSPs have a unique advantage over other solution providers as they already touch all network traffic in and out of the SMB on fixed, mobile, and even Wi-Fi. Because of this, CSPs can stay ahead of the competition by delivering network-based Security as a Service solutions to help customers gain more security and stability.

Protecting SMBs from Cyberattacks

We produced a webinar covering these opportunities in more depth, with some “deep dives” on some interesting topics:

• How to translate cybersecurity services into revenues and high Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• How to leverage pre-existing relationships with SMBs to upsell secure internet services
• How Telefónica Spain implemented Allot’s cybersecurity solutions for SMB customers to achieve double digit market penetration rates.

The best way to protect SMB customers

The part about Telefónica is particularly interesting.

Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world by market capitalization and numbers of customers.

To help its business customers cope with the current threat landscape, Telefónica decided to provide a solution for its SMB customers in its fixed and mobile networks. Marketed as “Conexión Segura Empresas,” the solution is offered as “a complete and robust security service to protect the corporate network.”

Installed at the core of the Telefónica network, Conexión Segura Empresas acts as a platform that ‘filters’ all the data that enters the SMB network. It analyzes data patterns and discards content that is categorized as a virus or malicious software.

The solution also prevents SMB users from landing on websites categorized as risky or inappropriate, and avoids website impersonation, fraud, and private data theft derived from scams. It also protects fixed and mobile devices in cases of loss or theft.

In addition to the benefits that Conexión Segura Empresas provides to SMB customers, the service has proven to be a commercial success for Telefónica. The offering increased ARPU of security users by more than 8%, and the customers are very satisfied with the service. SMB users gave 80% positive recommendations with no customer complaints. Today, the Telefónica SMB offering is considered the most successful VAS in the SMB market, and I’m very proud to say that our NetworkSecure solution contributed to its success.

NetworkSecure: ensuring online security for every customer

Allot NetworkSecure is a network-based security solution that empowers CSPs with the ability to deliver their own branded security services to SMBs and the mass market. It’s been successfully deployed to more than 23 million end-users, reaching 50% penetration rates, increasing ARPU by 5%, and dramatically enhancing customer satisfaction.

To learn more, you can get in touch with me and you can also read more about NetworkSecure online.