Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the cornerstone of economic growth. According to a 2010 research report, 91% of formal business entities in South Africa are SMEs contributing between 52% and 57% to the country’s GDP, and about 61% to employment.
They form the bread and butter of the country as job providers, poverty reducers, service delivery agents and economy boosters.
Despite this, SME’s are often ignored by technology vendors who prefer to focus on their larger cousins, organisations of over 200 people, and have to make do with IT solutions that aren’t tailored to their unique needs. This is particularly true of e-mail management and information compliance, where SMEs have to meet stringent regulations without the backing of vast IT departments and budgets.
Until now. J2 Software, a specialist provider of data security and policy enforcement solutions, has created a modern cloud-based solution that is not only tailored to the unique requirements of SMEs, but has invested in the design of products for specific types of SMEs, including legal firms and brokerages.
Powered by leading enterprise technology vendors, Trusted Business, Trusted Law and Trusted Broker were conceived to provide SMEs with a cost-effective, easy to manage solution to cover all their e-mail and information compliance requirements, effectively giving them the same tools that large businesses use at a fixed and cost-effective price.
Each solution has been devised and created to offer small firms the same infrastructure, professional connectivity and data security options usually only available to larger companies in their fields.
“Recent changes to laws and compliance codes around data security and compliance make it increasingly difficult on the SME – this will not change and it will definitely not slow down,” says John Mc Loughlin, MD of J2 Software.
“There are always tighter rules and stricter laws coming down the line, and every new law and each new clause in compliance requirements has increased this burden. Trusted Business is a world class technology platform for SMEs – no matter how big or small they are.”
The Trusted Business platform is a simple solution, providing companies with a compliant platform to do better business. The solution allows SMEs to work smarter and look more professional by providing personalised e-mail addresses if required, as well as a personalised Web landing page that includes contact details and specialities.
In addition, Trusted Business users get a bottomless e-mail archive, with their data stored in a world-class secure and confidential archive for 10 years. The solution is available to view at any time, and from any device.
The setup is simple enough that companies can go live in one day, and Trusted Business offers 100% guaranteed e-mail availability, spam and anti-virus protection. In addition, the solution provides data loss prevention and compliance coverage.
“We are keenly aware of the fact that SMEs have high technology requirements, but small budgets. For this reason, Trusted Business has been designed to be affordable and involves a fixed setup fee and monthly user charge.
“It offers all the benefits of solutions traditionally reserved for large corporations, including shared calendar and contacts, and instant access to your electronic contacts and communications on any device,” Mc Loughlin explains.