Today’s small-to-mid-size businesses (SMBs) are addressing a dicey two-front battle when it comes to security. They often have the smallest security teams and the most limited resources, yet they can be high-value targets for hackers.
Threat actors understand that today’s SMBs are left to manage a sprawling landscape of browser-based work, SaaS applications, and AI tools with almost no security budget. Without the resources, staffing, and security investments available to larger enterprises, SMBs are often viewed by threat actors as attractive, high-reward targets. In part because of this, small businesses are three times more likely to be targeted by cybercriminals than larger companies. From January to April 2026 alone, small businesses experienced a 49% cyberattack rate, with incidents occurring every seven seconds.
As AI continues to make threat actors better at evading protections, SMBs must prioritize their safety, especially as annual losses reach $254,000 per breach, and cause 60% of attacked companies to close within six months.
Without the dedicated staff or high budget for cybersecurity operations, many SMBs turn to outside partners or solutions to guide security decisions. But an SMB can have strong security solutions in place and still struggle if the people using it don’t know how to get the most from it.
Security vendors therefore have an opportunity to do more than provide technology. They need to close the gap between having a security tool and knowing how to use it effectively.
Security is Stronger When Knowledge is Shared
Today’s SMBs often have one IT generalist responsible for a growing number of threats, changing what effective support looks like for the average user. Without dedicated security teams, a lack of in-house expertise, and limited bandwidth, it’s harder for SMBs to problem solve, make confident decisions, or improve their security posture — which is a cyber incident waiting to happen.
That’s why the vendors that help customers continuously build expertise, both product-specific and industry-wide, are becoming more valuable than a vendor just providing technology. And one of the best ways to provide that support is through an easy-to-navigate, comprehensive community forum that goes beyond basic troubleshooting.
Platforms that bring together product guidance, industry resources, and insights from people facing similar challenges make security knowledge more accessible and instantly actionable, and that quick action is what will keep SMBs safe as the threat landscape continues to evolve.
Community Features That Deliver Real Value
As security vendors rethink how to help lean security teams learn and adapt at the pace of today’s cyber threats, the most effective community forum experiences are the ones that are:
- Simple and scalable, featuring modern interfaces, streamlined journeys, and low-effort workflows. For a small IT team, that could mean finding the answer to a configuration question in a few minutes rather than having to get in contact with the vendor and wait for a response.
- Centralized, eliminating the need for users to jump back and forth between support pages and other learning tools. Users should be able to find everything from security best practices to troubleshooting frequently asked questions (FAQs) on a single page. This setup saves time that IT teams can instead dedicate to other high-value security tasks.
- Driven by peer-guided expertise, especially in an era where AI is rapidly changing how we find information. Now more than ever, people want to engage with peers who understand their day-to-day challenges and get practical answers to product questions and more.
- AI-enabled, helping users quickly surface relevant, peer-created content about the vendor’s products and security related issues.
- Focused on velocity, understanding that people need to find answers today faster than ever before. The best community forums use modern technology, including AI-powered search, to accelerate the discovery process and help users find relevant answers without toggling between systems.
- Offers resources in multiple formats, because not everybody learns the same. Some people can watch live webinars, while others need to watch them later. Some people prefer to read an article, while others prefer to watch a video. There’s no one-size-fits-all learning method, which means modern community platforms should diversify content types to be the most effective. Additionally, vendors should expand their support coverage beyond branded communities to other channels where security leaders are active, such as Reddit or LinkedIn.
SMBs need streamlined efficiency to get the most out of their security solutions and keep pace as they become increasingly high-value targets. Every security vendor that serves SMBs should implement a community experience that empowers customers long after onboarding, making knowledge and support as accessible as the solution itself.
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