If you’ve recently made the decision to empower your workforce with mobility, then you know that the list of benefits for both business and employees is endless.
And if you haven’t – then you may well be among the 43.2% of local companies, which according to The Mobile Corporation in South Africa 2018, plan to include more mobile software in their tech infrastructure.
Perhaps even more telling, according to the study, is that 31.5% of businesses already use advanced mobile software across software categories such as ERP.
Hardly surprising given the advantages of using a mobile application for core functions such as enterprise resource planning (ERP). For example, SYSPRO Espresso, SYSPRO’s ground-breaking mobile ERP platform, provides a wealth of business insights – all of your planning, forecasting and budgeting – at your fingertips, anytime, anywhere.
Your Greatest Vulnerability Might Surprise You
But as you well know, with greater freedom comes the need for greater vigilance. Particularly when it comes to cybersecurity.
Think of your ERP system – it holds vast amounts of business-critical information. In fact, for 77.7% of companies ERP is essential to their businesses.
It’s hardly the kind of sensitive information you can afford to have in the wrong hands.
Like most businesses, you’ve probably invested in technological infrastructure to ensure that your data remains safe. But even the most advanced technology won’t save you if you haven’t addressed your greatest vulnerability of all.
Naturally apps like Espresso are kitted out to ensure information remains secure. The unfortunate reality though is that, while many cyber threats remain external, the majority of threats to your business will come from the inside, with your employees often playing an unwitting role in jeopardising your security.
First Line Defence is Key
And with more and more professionals connecting to the internet – the study shows that even in organisations with 1000+ employees, around 50% of the staff complement is online – the internal threat to your business’ information is only going to rise.
By default, most companies will look at combatting this threat using various tech solutions – and well they should. But, what they may or may not realise is that their best line of defence is actually employee awareness and education.
Don’t Click that Link
And the most important part of educating your staff is driving home the message that employees need to be extremely wary of clicking on links that come from an untrustworthy source. This is not as simple as you might think it is, given that many hackers will try and imitate links and e-mail addresses that do originate from trusted sources.
To avoid getting caught out, employees should look out for slight variations in spelling to the authentic address. It’s also a good idea to hover over a link before clicking on it and verify that it leads where it’s supposed to.
Ensuring their app password – particularly an ERP app – cannot easily be hacked is also really important. Part of this includes remembering never to write their passwords down. Leaving their devices where someone else can easily access them is also asking for trouble.
Keeping everyone in the company up to date on these simple cybersecurity measures could end up saving your business hundreds of thousands in damages.
So as you equip your people with more mobile software – particularly advanced mobile software across categories like ERP – make sure you empower them with knowledge as well.
