In a country where the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has become crucial to the survival of the economy, it is time that the survival of these businesses becomes, not just the focus of media, but of government and big business.
Korea and other eastern economies have, for decades, had a symbiotic relationship between the smaller business and larger manufacturers. This has included tax breaks, training programmes and incentives for both parties.
With black economic empowerment (BEE) such a focus of the government, a natural progression from this is creating incentives for the assistance of SMEs within the BEE strategy to ensure that they survive.
SMEs are faced with a plethora of survival related issues on a daily basis, including a simple lack of business and ways of securing this, insufficient skilled resources, cash flow as well as a lack of fiduciary and corporate management skills.
Basic, yet vital corporate governance issues, including VAT and company registrations, labour law, company tax and the securing of valuable data are seen as secondary considerations by most SMEs. But these matters literally threaten their existence if not complied with.
As these items are of such vital importance, yet receive so little attention, being that they do not relate to daily survival, it is these issues government should be subsidising or providing to ensure the economy`s future.
Among these, but at the bottom of the priority list with most SMEs, is the securing of data. As stated in the King Commission, a crucial component of corporate governance:
"The board (read owner for SME) is responsible for disclosures in relation to risk management and should as a minimum disclose that there is a documented and tested process in place which will allow the company to continue its critical business processes in the event of a disastrous incident impacting its activities. This is commonly known as a business continuity plan, and should cater for a worst case scenario."
The cost associated with business continuity planning is normally prohibitive and thus ignored, often to the detriment of the SME owing to the reliance on IT to operate competitively.
There are, however, companies that provide the primary service in terms of disaster recovery and business continuity planning, that of data asset storage, at reasonable cost. This includes the storage of data in the form of tapes, CD/DVDs, video and even actual hard drives.
One of these operations is BSF, established as the first of its kind in SA in 1986 and service provider to many listed medium and small companies.
Says General Manager, Kendall Williams: "We have been ensuring the survival of business through securing their data assets for nearly 18 years, and the one most noticeable aspect has been the lack of priority around data asset storage in the SME market.
"Most SMEs consider our service to be too expensive or simply not needed. But at the end of the day, these same people pay insurance for their cars and equipment, yet the one thing that could collapse their business - the loss of data - is ignored."
Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx, SA`s leading independent technology research organisation, concurs. His organisation is responsible for conducting research for the annual SME survey, the largest ongoing survey of the factors that have an impact on the survival of SMEs.
"Data protection barely features in the list of SME priorities, and then only in relation to virus protection," says Goldstuck. "In terms of business continuity, there is barely any strategic awareness."
Willams continues: "It`s not as if we have ignored this market in terms of product, we have a range of SME products including a cost-effective and simple Internet-based service called Vital File."
BSF has found that many SMEs secure their data on disk or CD and store these at home or in a safe. Not surprisingly, the SME clients at BSF are those that have had this data stolen or damaged, and then only choose to go the professional route with them.
"From our experience, it would be of great assistance to those SMEs that do have a reliance on computer data to have government subsidise or outsource the provision of data asset storage. It will ensure their survival and benefit the country in the long-term," concludes Williams.
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