Running an SMB is a lot like buying an older home. Once you decide to do either, you never need a hobby again.
If you’re running or helping to run an SMB, cybersecurity is increasingly among your most prominent multiple concerns. In fact, your company’s cybersecurity needs are not very different from those of the largest enterprises. They just have more money, expertise, people, and options than you do.
How about some more pressure? If you want to do more business with more large enterprises or government agencies, they are going to demand proof of adequate cybersecurity at your company. That proof may require compliance with frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA. Achieving, maintaining, and documenting that compliance involves preparing for and conducting regular audits of your IT environment and your business and cybersecurity processes – hopefully without slowing your business to a crawl for days or weeks.
For too many SMBs, the apparent answer is “nothing.” or maybe “prayer.” While prayer is effective in many situations, it is not an adequate cybersecurity strategy.
Instead, you could try to acquire and implement any of the popular cybersecurity solutions marketed primarily to those larger enterprises you want as business partners. You may have even already considered or tried one or more of these. However, those solutions tend to be complex, expensive, and challenging, if not impossible, to use effectively without resident expertise.
You could decide to invest in finding, hiring, and retaining that expertise. But that puts you in competition with larger companies that can pay higher salaries and offer more benefits.
You could attempt to “grow” the expertise you need by providing cybersecurity training and certification to members of your incumbent IT management team, assuming you have one. But that takes time, effort, and money too. Probably more of all three than you can justify investing.
This means you’ll likely need support from outside, either from expensive third-party vendors or your chosen solution provider, who has a lot of larger, more lucrative clients than your [typical] SMB. Enough repetitions of the cycle of frustration and disappointment these circumstances often produce, and you may feel you have no choice but to resort to “nothing,” “prayer,” or both.
Given the criticality of securing your IT estate and network connections, you don’t need knowledge, expertise, more staff, or consultants nearly as much as you need effective cybersecurity. Preferably now.
Fortunately, there is an alternative your SMB can afford, understand, deploy, and manage with minimal help. And you can keep it running effectively and affordably thanks to a committed, experienced vendor focused on SMBs like yours and supported by a network of similarly focused and committed managed service providers (MSPs).
Calyptix, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, specializes in delivering network security solutions for small businesses (SMBs) and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) and managed service providers (MSPs). The company’s flagship product is its Access Enforcer (AE) line of UTM firewalls which provide SMB and SME firewall customers with robust security, high reliability/uptime of 99.9999% and network management features at an all-inclusive price point that Calyptix says is as much as 75% less than larger competitors.
“Small businesses and MSPs are ‘our people’ and our primary focus,” said Calyptix chief executive Ben Yarbrough. He co-founded the SMB-focused security provider 18 years ago with Lawrence Teo who serves as the chief technology officer (CTO).
Calyptix’s entire line of AE firewalls – including the latest AE1900 introduced in January 2024 - incorporates a slew of embedded, robust security capabilities as part of its standard licensing for a single, all-inclusive price. SMB and SME customers don’t pay extra to add users to their AE firewall deployments.
“Our customers pay the same price, whether they have one user, 10 users or 200 users,” Yarbrough said. Calyptix’s firewalls vary by the number of connections they can comfortably support at one time. Customers choose the appropriately sized device to accommodate their business requirements and add as many users as needed.
Yarbrough said Calyptix’s mission is to provide its Managed Service Provider (MSP) and end-user customers with top-notch service and support, usually reserved for large enterprises. “Oftentimes, small MSPs and SMBs are treated less important by security vendors that specialize in large enterprises,” Yarbrough observed. “When a customer calls Calyptix, there are no long wait times for tech support.”
Calyptix is also quick to respond when customers report a software bug or glitch. “We will fix it ASAP; our MSPs and end users don’t wait weeks or months for an upgrade or patch,” Yarbrough added.
Calyptix customers (both MSPs and end users) agreed. They give Calyptix high marks across the board for security, reliability, responsiveness, and its all-inclusive pricing.
Eric Kiehn, President and CEO at C&W Technologies, a managed service provider (MSP) in Stuart, Florida agreed. Kiehn called Calyptix a “fantastic vendor to work with” stating the proof is in its 16-year partnership [with Calyptix] dating back to 2008.
C&W’s main customers are SMBs and SMEs in a wide range of vertical markets including legal, insurance firms, physicians’ offices, and non-profits. These types of firms rely on their MSPs who in turn, count on Calyptix to quickly resolve any issues before they compromise security or disrupt daily operations and impact the bottom line.
Kiehn rated Calyptix’s technical support and reliability “excellent.” Calyptix’s founders boast experience in network security, which makes its solutions practical, affordable, and easy to install and manage for SMBs and SME organizations, which often lack skilled onsite IT and security administrators, Kiehn noted.
He specifically called out the AE firewall’s Community Shield® capability as a “huge plus.” Specifically, Community Shield® compiles information about U.S.-based threats sends out updates to identify and block out threats. This is especially geared towards businesses that are not open 7 x 24 such as a law office or a dentist’s office. Community Shield® pushes out information regarding suspect servers and sites in the US and blocks out rogue IP addresses generated from the US and Canada and other friendly countries, Kiehn said. “When we installed Community Shield® at our customer sites, they saw a dramatic 80% decrease in security attacks.”
“I don’t care if you are an SMB, midsize or large enterprise; every organization is vulnerable to a security attack or data breach. The only way to protect your money, your data assets and ensure continuous data access is with strong security and constant vigilance.”
Sean Cavin, a vice president at Cameron & Roberts Insurance Agency, a 110-year-old firm headquartered in metropolitan Atlanta, GA said his firm is a satisfied, longtime Calyptix AE firewall user. As the de facto IT and security administrator, Cavin said his firm needed a full-featured firewall that he could easily deploy and manage daily.
“Calyptix fits the bill,” he said. “We particularly rely on Calyptix’ Gatekeeper™ software to ensure easy, secure remote access. This obviates the need and the considerable expense and complexity of installing a separate VPN,” Cavin said.
Cavin said, that the increasing number of targeted and sophisticated security threats demand that SMBs and SMEs like Cameron & Roberts Insurance and its customers, have a firewall with robust features.
“Considering the ongoing surge in critical vulnerabilities, basic remote access software or an entry-level firewall is no longer good enough; it’s a primary target for hackers,” Cavin noted.
Cavin said the Calyptix AE firewall has performed “flawlessly” in the last 10 years even during COVID when the entire staff worked remotely. “The AE firewall never crashed, and we’ve had no successful data breaches in the last five years. The multifactor authentication helps me sleep better at night,” Cavin said.
One more way SMB cybersecurity is like owning a vintage domicile: effective care of either and sounder sleep for you and yours starts with the right tools. For securing your SMB, Calyptix may be the solution you need. As for that old house? You’re on your own.
For more information about Calyptix and its AE line of firewalls for SMBs and SMEs visit www.calyptix.com.
As an IT industry analyst, consultant, journalist, and marketer, Michael Dortch has created content that translates “bits and bytes” into “dollars and sense” for more than four decades. Michael has been a senior analyst at Aberdeen Group, Constellation Research, Information Systems Group (ISG), Robert Frances Group, and Yankee Group. He has also served in senior content development, marketing, and public relations roles at Huawei Technologies USA, Ivanti, LANDESK, and ServiceNow. Michael currently develops content for several startups and established companies, directly and through select agencies. More information is available at https://www.michaeldortch.com.
Photo by Gus Ruballo on Unsplash
