In today's global economy powered by the Internet, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with the right mix of technology are finding they can compete effectively with anyone, anywhere, at any time. Most notably, SMB-designed email, Instant Messaging (IM) and real-time calendar and contact list collaboration solutions enable these businesses to work more effectively and efficiently. In combination with the Web, the advent of powerful packaged application solutions that are specifically designed for SMBs have eliminated the 'regional' distinctions and limitations that once marked SMBs. Global presence and communication on a 24x7 basis is no longer a Fortune 100 differentiator. However, with access to these powerful applications come many perceived -- and just as many very real -- risks. If there is a lingering difference between the establishment companies and the typical SMB, it's that the larger organizations have the time, people, and budget to manage the growing set of risks associated with worldwide Internet connectivity as well as the vulnerabilities often associated with fundamental collaborative applications like email, IM, and file transfer.

On the one hand, large corporations present a bigger and more lucrative target for those who would corrupt or compromise a company's data or take whole systems hostage. As such, SMBs are theoretically less vulnerable. Statistically this is true, but the statistics are meaningless if your SMB happens to fall victim to a hacker, or worse. That is because while most people agree SMBs are less-often targeted, a data and systems breach at the typical SMB can have a more devastating and longer-lasting impact from which an SMB may never recover. So while SMB-designed applications present a tremendous opportunity for these organizations to gain an equal footing and competitive standing, they also create the need for caution when making application solution selections from an array of offerings with varying degrees of appropriate security features.

Since many SMBs feel less threatened, many live with the illusion -- or hope -- that they are safe or worse, that they are invulnerable. This is the worst possible security position. Global viruses, bots, Trojan Horses, worms and spam can and often are unleashed indiscriminately. Some are born chiefly for the amusement of wrong-doers who for some reason take pleasure in corrupting whole swaths of the Internet-driven world. Some enter the SMB premise through unsuspecting or careless employees via a laptop they've used at home overnight. Some even arrive courtesy of a browser. Furthermore, spam actually is a very individual-oriented problem unlike some of the more sophisticated viruses that target large corporate entities. Every organization, of any size, anywhere in the world, is a target for spammers. TrendMicro says PC viruses cost businesses approximately $55 billion in 2003. IDC says 60% or more of all corporate data is unprotected.