The risks posed by cyber attacks and reputational damage are increasingly worrying small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to Zurich Insurance Group’s third annual global SME survey.
Key findings included:
- Risk awareness has improved, with over 90 percent of SMEs surveyed now aware of the risks facing their business. Only 7 percent don't see any risks for their business in 2016.
- Concerns about cybercrime have almost tripled since 2013 (11 percent vs 4 percent), while worries about reputational damage have also increased (14 percent vs 8 percent three years ago). These were the fastest growing perceived risks since the survey began in 2013.
- Just under a third (31 percent) rated the impact of competition on margins as the greatest risk facing their business, a slight decline from previous years. Lack of consumer demand continued to be the second-greatest risk, and has increased in prominence since 2013 (30 percent vs 24 percent).
The survey polled 2,600 C-suite executives and managers at SMEs across 13 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.
Read more about the third annual global SME survey (PDF).
