Small business owners are wearing more hats than ever before. Along with managing operations, sales, innovation, customer satisfaction and more, they must also stay on top of trends that can affect their business trajectory — including cybersecurity and the ever-evolving range of cyber threats.
Managing cybersecurity can create unnecessary complexity, especially for a small business. Business owners may choose to forgo cybersecurity measures or buy legacy antivirus tools built for consumers, putting them at risk. Some accumulate a patchwork of tools that all offer small pieces of the full cybersecurity picture but provide only fragmented coverage and piecemeal data about risk and exposure. And small businesses may have lean budgets for products and limited technical expertise to manage security operations. All of these challenges can complicate the already delicate balance needed to own and manage a successful small business.
Recognizing these challenges, CrowdStrike announced CrowdStrike Falcon® Go in November 2023. Falcon Go brings together next-generation antivirus and device control with support to provide small businesses with manageable and affordable cyber protection through an easy-to-install, easy-to-use UI. With Falcon Go, CrowdStrike gives small businesses enterprise-quality cybersecurity, protecting their business and customer data from attacks that could be detrimental to the future of their business.
And now, one year in, CrowdStrike is fortunate to have identified strong partners with whom to partner to address these same challenges. With our strong partnerships and available CrowdStrike’s integrations and solutions, we are fully committed to meeting the needs of SMBs.
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s largest banks, is committed to enhancing financial and operational resilience by prioritizing customer and staff protection through cybersecurity. In line with this goal, NAB partnered with CrowdStrike earlier this year to offer its small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers in Australia a free year of Falcon Go, helping them strengthen their defenses against cyber threats such as ransomware and data breaches. This partnership reflects NAB’s broader mission to build cyber resilience not only for its customers but for the wider Australian community.
SMB customers are already benefiting from NAB’s cybersecurity initiatives. Finance Lane, a small mortgage broker, quickly took advantage of NAB’s offer, finding the Falcon Go solution addressed its cybersecurity needs without requiring extensive expertise. In a recent case study, owner Cristian Tihon emphasized that data security is essential to their business, as clients expect robust protection. With the Falcon Go solution installed in just 15 minutes, Finance Lane significantly bolstered its defenses against cyber threats. This initiative is one of many by NAB to help SMBs prevent cyberattacks that could disrupt their operations.
1Password
In order to provide the simplicity business customers are looking for, CrowdStrike and 1Password recently announced a strategic partnership to simplify security for small businesses. 1Password customers can now purchase 1Password Extended Access Management (XAM) and Falcon Go together to get comprehensive security coverage that is easy to deploy and manage at an affordable cost. Through this integrated solution, small businesses can ensure robust protection against cyber threats without the complexity or cost of managing disparate tools, allowing them to focus on growing their business without worrying about ransomware, shadow IT, insecure devices and more.
This new partnership is the next step in 1Password and CrowdStrike’s joint journey to bring integrated security solutions to business customers, and it builds on deepening integrations between respective products. In addition to checking if CrowdStrike is installed and running, 1Password XAM will now be able to check the CrowdStrike Falcon® Zero Trust Assessment (ZTA) score to determine if a device can access company apps and resources. Earlier this year, 1Password and CrowdStrike announced a new integration with CrowdStrike Falcon® Next-Gen SIEM, consolidating security events and information in one place for monitoring, streamlined reporting and critical threat intelligence for 1Password Business customers.
Intel
CrowdStrike aligns with manufacturers to bring cybersecurity to SMB hardware. Intel manufactures industry-leading hardware in the form of AI-ready Core Processors. When collaborating with OEM partners via Intel’s Software Advantage Program, Intel enabled an AI PC software bundle led by CrowdStrike that small business customers can easily enable when they open their device. This bundle features one free year of Falcon Go, which is run on the same AI-powered Falcon agent as CrowdStrike’s enterprise-grade modules. This provides a built-in level of free cybersecurity for SMBs that purchase a device with an Intel chip at its core.
Why is this important for SMBs? Cybersecurity and AI are two massive components of an enterprise strategy. Intel and CrowdStrike believe SMBs should have built-in access to both, without an enterprise price tag. Intel manufactures chips with built-in AI compatibility to super-power all business tools and applications, no matter the size or scale. CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform is powered by AI, so even as an SMB with one PC, you’re protected by enterprise-grade technology.
Dell
Looking from another integration angle, CrowdStrike and Dell have been working together to keep SMB PC fleets secure and healthy. Dell Services uses the Falcon sensor/agent with next-gen AV and device control to keep SMBs safe from known and unknown malware.
Dell’s recently launched APEX Managed Device Service delivers advanced security tailored for SMBs, empowering them to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats. This service provides comprehensive protection through cloud-based encryption management, helping safeguard data even if devices are lost or stolen. System firmware protection and next-generation antivirus continuously monitor, detect and mitigate potential vulnerabilities. Additionally, Dell takes charge of timely OS, BIOS and firmware updates, helping prevent unauthorized security changes and optimizing device performance.
With continuous real-time monitoring and system optimization, Dell enables businesses to focus on growth, with the confidence that their devices are more secure, managed and performing at their best. In partnership with CrowdStrike, Dell extends its reach to more SMBs by integrating robust software and hardware security solutions.
It’s been an exciting year bringing Falcon Go to small business customers through our strategic business and technology partnerships, and focusing on ensuring SMBs are getting the best cyber protection — no matter where they are in their business journey. We look forward to continued expansion of our SMB offerings, expanding our partnership opportunities and working with others to scale cyber protection to more SMBs across the globe.
Together we are working with our partners to improve cyber resilience across the SMB segment.
