SME Risk Management

Managing a business is hectic, even without taking into account emergency situations. However, “it is precisely because of their smaller scale that SMEs can ill-afford hefty losses”ⁱ , as AIG Singapore's head of SME packages Mr Krishna Moorthi Sri Ramalu highlights.

Here are 4 factors your SME should consider when drawing up your Risk Management framework:

Supply chain vulnerabilities

More than 84% of companies in Asia Pacific rely on third-party logistic providers for their supply needs. However, if a disruption should occur due to factors like natural disasters or strikes, these companies risk a delay, or even cessation of their required materials. This means that your SME might not be able to deliver your services and products within the promised timeframe.

A disruption in provider service could also spell damage in brand reputation and service quality. Solving this requires a Supply Chain Risk Management System; usually a four-pronged approach consisting of risk identification, quantification, mitigation and response.

Cyber-Security breaches

Local SMEs have been found to have a high chance of data breach susceptibility, in part because of the high number of BYOD practices in place. “When a consumer technology works, [staff] will use it instead of a corporate-deployed alternative”ⁱⁱⁱ due to its simplicity and familiarity. When employees use personal devices to check emails or make business calls, they open more channels for security breaches that go undetected by their firms.

Changes to the existing Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act (CMCA) have been made to address the growing cybersecurity issue. Discussing the bill, Nominated Member of Parliament Thomas Chua urged businesses to pay special attention to the new clauses, particularly the one which holds accountable “anyone who obtains, retains, sells, creates, supplies or uses methods to commit computer-related offences”.

Internet Downtime

Picture being in the middle of a large file transfer when your internet disconnects. This means that important data is lost, as is the time spent downloading it. This loss could prove to be quite costly. Past data has shown that Singapore businesses can lost up to US$1 billion a year simply from data loss and downtime^v.

Ensure your business is always connected by having an alternate source of connection. A backup 4G network is an excellent choice for network diversity as it is not running on the same infrastructure as your broadband connection. With an automatic failover to 4G network, StarHub DualConnect ensures your business operations achieve 100% internet availability.