Indian SMBs focusing on ways to protect data: Symantec

Indian small and medium businesses (SMBs) are increasingly becoming concerned about data loss and are taking steps to ensure that their information is protected, security software maker Symantec today said.

According to Symantec 2010 Global SMB Information Protection Survey, 67 per cent of Indian SMBs are concerned about data loss and most of them are focusing on enhancing backup, recovery and archiving initiatives.

In contrast to Symantec 2009 Security and Storage survey, which pointed towards the lack of even basic security solutions like antivirus, the 2010 findings indicate that firms are now focusing on information protection measures.

The current annual average spend on information technology by SMBs is about Rs 1.48 lakh (about $3,000), which is significantly lower than the average spend of $12,500 in the Asia Pacific-Japan region.

"The impact of losing critical business information is detrimental for SMBs and can result in damaged reputation and revenue losses," Symantec Head (Channel and Alliances) Vineet Sood said.

The survey took into account SMBs with 10 to 499 employees.

Of the total firms surveyed 80 per cent respondents said they adopted backup and recovery solutions, 51 per cent of the total respondents said they adopted newer technologies like de-duplication.

The survey also revealed that 70 per cent of the firm lost confidential data in last one year.

Symantec said it is important to educate companies about the significance of having solutions in place for data security.