Cyber Security Climbs the SMB Agenda as AI Pressure Exposes Resilience Gaps

New research commissioned by Sage shows cybersecurity has become a top strategic priority for SMBs worldwide, but many organizations remain exposed despite increased investment.[6] The study highlights that rapid AI adoption is straining existing resilience, with gaps in preparedness and governance leaving small businesses vulnerable to emerging AI-enabled threats.[6]

According to Sage-commissioned research reported by Digitalisation World, cybersecurity has moved into the top tier of strategic priorities for SMBs worldwide, with increased investment driven in part by rapid AI adoption and evolving digital risks.[6][7] Despite this heightened focus, many SMBs remain exposed due to gaps in preparedness, governance, and employee training, including lack of guidance on safe AI use and protection of confidential data.[6][10] From a RealGround perspective, these findings indicate a governance and readiness problem: SMBs are deploying AI faster than they are updating policies, controls, and training, which raises risks of data leakage, misconfigured AI tools, and unmanaged AI-enabled threats. Practical implications include the need for formal AI security readiness assessments, explicit AI usage and data-handling policies, and executive-level AI security advisory to align rapid AI adoption with resilient, well-governed cybersecurity programs.