Press Release | 06 May 2021

Vodafone and Accenture make ‘enterprise-grade’ cybersecurity services available to UK SMEs

Vodafone Managed Security Services will helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) detect, react to, and recover from cyber-attacks.

• Vodafone strengthens existing portfolio of security products with launch of new Managed Security Service with Accenture, aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
• New service follows a strategic relationship announcement between Vodafone Group and Accenture last year.

United Kingdom : Vodafone UK and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) have launched Vodafone Managed Security Services – a new portfolio of enterprise-grade cybersecurity services to help SMEs detect, react to, and recover from cyber-attacks.

Following a strategic relationship announced last year , Vodafone and Accenture have been working together to offer enterprise-grade managed security services (MSS) for SMEs. Small businesses often lack the experience, time or resources to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving threat of cyber-attacks.

The new Vodafone Managed Security Services offering with Accenture strengthens Vodafone’s existing portfolio of cybersecurity solutions, adding:

• Cyber Exposure Diagnostic (CED) – helping businesses understand how well they’d fare against a cyber threat and identify where breaches are most likely to happen.
• Penetration Testing/Vulnerability Assessment – protecting businesses by carrying out simulated attacks to identify vulnerabilities in vital IT infrastructure before they’re exploited ​by bad actors.
• Phishing Awareness – helping businesses educate their employees and turn them into an additional line of defence by understanding phishing attempts.

Additional services such as 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.

With more than 65,000 hacking attempts made each day in the UK, at least 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 in excess of £3,000 for small businesses, with 23% of SMEs indicating they would not survive a loss of such scale.

Anne Sheehan, Business Director, Vodafone UK, said: “We’re delighted to have partnered with Accenture to provide best-in-class, affordable cybersecurity solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses, who often lack the resource or hiring power to keep on top of rapidly evolving cyber-attacks.

“As cyber-attacks become more sophisticated and prevalent, SMEs need to ensure they are properly equipped to assess, detect and respond to threats as soon as possible. All businesses should be future-proofing themselves against online threats; not being properly prepared online is no different to leaving the front door unlocked – it leaves you extremely vulnerable.”

Harpreet Sidhu, who leads Accenture’s Managed Security Services globally, said: “Cybercriminals are a significant threat to businesses of all sizes with costly consequences, which is a particularly challenging financial burden for small and medium organisations with limited access to cybersecurity expertise.

“Vodafone and Accenture are committed to providing a market-leading security service offering across Europe with a long-term focus on co-creating innovative cybersecurity services that arm our clients with the necessary resources to rapidly manage and respond to cyber threats.

“As UK businesses continue to fall victim to cyber crime, we aim to offer our comprehensive portfolio of enterprise cybersecurity capabilities to meet specific industry needs.”

Earlier this year, Vodafone published a report looking into cybersecurity and SMEs which asked the UK Government to provide further protections for small- and medium-sized businesses by giving more support to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and making cybersecurity protections more accessible.

Vodafone Relaunches One Year’s Free Broadband Offer for Small Businesses

To continue to support small businesses as the UK eases out of lockdown, Vodafone will be relaunching its one year (12 months) free broadband offer for small businesses on 7 May 2021. 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 (0 – 50 employees) and existing ones due an upgrade.

Once the initial 12-month period has passed, the monthly fee will revert 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-time fee of £20 (+20% VAT) to cover set-up costs, with no further payment required until the thirteenth month. The offer is available until 17 June 2021.

Small businesses can find out more about the 12 months free broadband offer here .