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HP to roll-out new protection portfolio

According to Jan Iversen, Business Protection and Mobility, HP EMEA, many SMB's can protect their data for the cost of a daily coffee, although few businesses in the Middle East recognise the commercial risks of losing company information or customer data from security threats or business-critical events.

According to Gartner research, 50 per cent of all SMBs will go out of business within three years if they can't retrieve their data in 24 hours.

According to survey, around 50 per cent of software sold in the region is counterfeit which exposes many SMBs to virus attacks that exploit vulnerability in old operating systems.

The global phenomenon of 'phishing' or identity theft has also emerged in the Middle East and is set to become a major security issue for SMB's with transaction based web sites. The Middle East business culture was also voiced as a reason why companies are reluctant to ask for help or expose weaknesses in their IT set-up.

HP's Jan Iversen, said: “Many SMBs in the Middle East think that IT business protection is too complex, too expensive or too time consuming and will never happen to them. The recent power outage in Dubai was a real wake-up call to many businesses about how vulnerable their IT systems are."

"It is the role of the IT industry to reach out to the market and get that message across, while providing relevant products and advice that solve the problems," he added.