Overcoming The Business Threats in 2022
Last editedMar 20222 min read
Recent years have taught us that businesses need to be proactive when it comes to dealing with threats. It’s essential for businesses to be agile and responsive in how they deal with unforeseen changes to their business operations, the greater economy, and legislative changes that may affect their operations.
The global pandemic, Brexit, GDPR and the Wannacry attacks of 2017 are just a few high-profile examples of how events can cause enormous disruption to businesses that are unprepared. If your business is to thrive in 2022 and beyond, it’s important to identify and guard against the latest business threats.
What are the biggest business threats in 2022?
The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns were perhaps the biggest threat to UK businesses in recent memory. Companies of all shapes and sizes were forced to radically alter their operational processes almost overnight or risk going under. For those businesses lucky enough to have survived the disruption caused by the pandemic, it has proven a sobering reminder of the importance of agility. The more we know about risks to our businesses, the better positioned we are to insulate ourselves from risk as much as possible.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the biggest external threats to a business in 2022:
cybercrime and other cyber incidents
business interruption and supply chain disruption
environmental/climate issue
changes to legislation and new regulations
market changes and volatility
new technologies
damage to reputation or brand value
Not all of these will necessarily be an immediate threat to your business. But it’s incumbent upon businesses to identify the threats that are most likely to affect them, and start developing a plan to mitigate them.
Overcoming cyber threats to UK businesses
Cyber incidents remain a very real threat to UK businesses. In the wake of the pandemic, many businesses still operate with a remote or hybrid workforce. And this new way of working brings with it new vulnerabilities, with employees using personal devices for company tasks. As well as cybercrime vulnerabilities, there are IT governance and potential downtime issues that also need to be addressed.
Being vigilant against cyber incidents isn’t just about having the best encryption or virus protection. It’s about ensuring that all employees are well trained in the use of your IT infrastructure, that passwords are strong and changed regularly, and that business activities are not carried out on shared public networks (such as in cafes, pubs or other public spaces).
Overcoming supply chain disruption
During the pandemic, some businesses were able to pivot and adjust their operational processes quickly in order to carry on operating as normal. But the same could not always be said of their suppliers and vendors. Covid-19 provided businesses with a severe warning of the dangers of supply chain disruption.
Businesses need to employ a supply chain risk management strategy to prevent future disruption caused by supply chain issues. This may include:
diversifying your supply base
forming relationships with backup suppliers
partnering with logistics experts
using risk evaluation tools
creating a supply chain emergency plan
Overcoming environmental threats in business
The ongoing climate crisis has seen increasingly volatile weather in recent years. This may affect business operations and supply chains in a number of ways. As well as actively seeking to reduce the environmental impact of their operations, businesses should also employ strategies to ensure that they’re able to remain operational when faced with inclement or extreme weather conditions.
Everything from diversifying supply chains to allowing customers to make secure online transactions can contribute to this.
We can help
If you’re interested in finding out more about how to overcome the latest threats in business, then get in touch with our financial experts. Discover how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.
