Vodafone, Accenture offer UK SMEs “enterprise-grade” cybersecurity services

The operator adds to its portfolio of security products with the launch of new Managed Security Services with Accenture.

Vodafone UK and Accenture have launched Vodafone Managed Security Services to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) detect, react to and recover from cyber-attacks.

Vodafone Group and Accenture announced a strategic relationship last year.
 
SMEs often lack the experience, time or resources to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving threat of cyber-attacks, and their difficulties have been exacerbated by so many people working from home during lockdowns.
 
The new cybersecurity services include:
* Cyber Exposure Diagnostic (CED) to help businesses understand how well they’d fare against a cyber threat and identify where breaches are most likely to happen
* Penetration Testing/Vulnerability Assessment to protect businesses by carrying out simulated attacks to identify vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure
* Phishing Awareness helping businesses educate employees and turn them into an additional line of defence.
 
Breach Response, Forensic Services, Managed Detection and Response and Managed Firewall will follow shortly.

UK customers will also benefit from round-the-clock access to Vodafone and Accenture’s team of analysts and cyber specialists.
 
More than 65,000 hacking attempts are made each day in the UK, and at one small business is successfully attacked every 19 seconds according to insurance firm Hiscox.

Research by Vodafone found that a successful cyber-attack has an average cost more than £3,000 for small businesses, with 23% of SMEs indicating they would not survive such a loss.

Year’s Free Broadband for small firms

To continue to support small businesses as the UK eases out of lockdown, Vodafone relaunches its one year (12 months) free broadband offer for small businesses  on 7th May.

The offer, which was well received by small businesses when launched earlier this year, is available on a 36-month contract and is available to new small business customers with up to 50 employees and established one ready for an upgrade.
 
After the initial 12-months, the monthly fee reverts to the standard rate of £20.83 (+20% VAT) a month for Business Broadband Superfast 1 and £25 (+20% VAT) a month for Business Broadband Superfast 2.

There will be a one-off fee of £20 (+20% VAT) to cover set up costs, with no further payment required until the thirteenth month. The offer is available until 1 June 2021.