The business development process includes identifying new opportunities, maintaining and developing relationships with customers as well as forming strategic partnerships and formulating strategies to boost profits. It impacts virtually every department of a company from human resource to marketing. This field is particularly difficult because it requires vigilance to protect against cyberattacks that can cause disruption or even destroy systems, and compromise the information of businesses and organizations.
In the past decade cyberattacks have become more sophisticated as hackers seek to target more digital assets. The scale of attacks grew as criminals sought to earn money and monetize. In response, cybersecurity has been elevated to the top of the list of priorities for many companies. The threat of losing the trust of customers, lawsuits and fines from regulatory authorities has made the implementation of effective security technologies essential to the overall success of companies.
The cost of adopting cybersecurity technology may be prohibitive for SMEs that are operating under tight financial constraints. This study seeks to determine the internal and external factors that influence SMEs adopting cybersecurity technologies. A systematic literature review was performed, using Google Scholar and databases like EBSCO and ProQuest to find relevant studies. To identify relevant studies, key phrases like cybersecurity and data breaches were searched for.
This study suggests that technological characteristics and perceived utility are the main drivers of the adoption of cybersecurity technology within SMEs. Further, IT modularity and observability are strongly correlated with the adoption of cybersecurity technologies in SMEs.