The research, based on a survey of 1,000 senior leaders, found that over 10 per tnrt admitted their organisations would be unlikely to recover from a major attac. Nearly two-thirds said their exposure to cyber risk has increased over the past year.

The survey found basic cyber hygiene remains weak. Password reuse is rife, with leaders estimating employees use their work password for up to 11 other personal accounts, including social media and dating sites – a gift to cybercriminals.

Nearly three-quarters of leaders surveyed believe at least one employee would fall for a convincing phishing email due to poor awareness, lack of training, staff being “too busy”, and no clear protocols for spotting and reporting suspicious messages.

“Some of these findings are truly alarming,” said Nick Gliddon, Business Director at VodafoneThree. “One in ten leaders believe their company would not survive a cyber-attack. That highlights the scale of vulnerability facing UK firms today.”

While 89 per cent of bosses say last year’s high-profile cyber-attacks made them more alert to online threats, fewer than hal have given staff cyber awareness training.

Artificial intelligence is making scams harder to spot. Deepfake videos have made people more wary of video calls claiming to be from senior colleagues to trick employees into transferring money, handing over data or granting system access. As deepfake tools improve, social engineering is becoming more dangerous – and more convincing.

The findings come as the UK Government prepares to launch a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter later this year to strengthen defences against cyber-enabled crime. The charter aims to tighten standards for prevention, detection and response, and bring industry and government closer together.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/one-in-ten-uk-businesses-would-not-survive-a-major-cyber-attack-warns-vodafone-business/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-targets-sme-market-social-media-push-steven-bartletts-content-creator/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-targets-sme-market-social-media-push-steven-bartletts-content-creator/#respond Mon, 04 Aug 2025 13:11:55 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/vodafone-targets-sme-market-social-media-push-steven-bartletts-content-creator/ Vodafone Business has partnered with Steven Bartlett’s FlightStory Studio to launch a new social media content series aimed at UK small and medium-sized enterprises.

Vodafone Business has partnered with Steven Bartlett’s FlightStory Studio to launch a new social media content series aimed at UK small and medium-sized enterprises.

The first four episodes of the series explore topics such as: how to be creative in digital marketing. AI Tools to work smarter and scale, how to build an online business, how to sell online 

Entrepreneur, investor, author, and podcast host Steven Bartlett has been named in the TIME100 Creators List for 2025, FlightStory is the content agency behind Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO. The series will be distributed primarily across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Vodafone is promoting an “always-on, social-first” model

The move is part of Vodafone’s push to reposition itself as an ally to Britain’s 5.5 million SMEs, a sector it sees as underexploited in terms of revenue growth and long-term customer value.

SME Growth

Vodafone Business currently revenues around £1 billion annually. But growth in this segment has been flat compared to consumer mobile and enterprise accounts. The new campaig is designed to both retain and upsell existing SME customers by driving engagement with Vodafone’s business.connected programme, which offers digital tools and training to small firms.

Vodafone has previously pledged to support one million SMEs through business.connected by the end of 2025. The campaign will also also serve as a lead-generation funnel for Vodafone’s broader business services, including broadband, cloud, and IoT solutions.

The move away from traditional advertising formats also reflects changing media consumption habits among SMEs. Data from Vodafone indicates mostf UK small business owners use platforms like YouTube and Instagram for personal and professional content

This strategy may help Vodafone reach younger business owners and startups, who tend to be to be more digitally native and less loyal to incumbent telecoms providers. odafone is likely betting on lifetime value and bundling opportunities across mobile, broadband, and digital services.

With BT, Sky, and Virgin Media O2 are all vying for small business customers, so Vodafone is using content to sell as well as inspire.

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-targets-sme-market-social-media-push-steven-bartletts-content-creator/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-business-now-main-sponsor-army-rugby-union/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-business-now-main-sponsor-army-rugby-union/#respond Fri, 04 Jul 2025 14:28:46 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/vodafone-business-now-main-sponsor-army-rugby-union/ Vodafone Business is now main sponsor of the Army Rugby Union for five years. Vodafone branding will now appear across all Army Rugby team kits and fixtures.

]]> Vodafone Business is now main sponsor of the Army Rugby Union for five years. Vodafone branding will now appear across all Army Rugby team kits and fixtures.

The sponsorship builds on Vodafone’s existing partnerships within the UK Armed Forces sporting community. The network renewed its support for UK Armed Forces Rugby is title sponsor for the Women’s Inter-Defence Rugby Competition taking place later this summer.

Vodafone Business Security Enhanced Director, Steve Knibbs, said:

“This partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting the people and communities who protect and serve while also highlighting the power of connectivity and innovation to drive performance and wellbeing.”

Brigadier James Cook OBE, Chair of the ARU, welcomed the new sponsor, saying: “This partnership will not only strengthen our elite representative teams, but also support grassroots development and engagement across the wider Army community.”

The deal will see Vodafone Business not only receive kit and event visibility, but also collaborate with the ARU on initiatives for player performance and community engagement.

Alongside its rugby sponsorships, the network has introduced exclusive full fibre broadband offers for armed forces personnel to help connectivity for military families.

The ARU was founded in 1906 It is the governing body for rugby in the British Army.

Vodafone’s broader strategy is to embed its brand within the UK defence community while advancing the use of connectivity in performance sport.

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This adds to Vodafone’s existing role in the smart meter programme, where it supplies 2G and 4G mobile connectivity to transmit data from individual meters to the central Data Service Platform (DSP), the secure system that runs the UK’s smart metering ecosystem.

Under the new contract, Vodafone will now also provide fixed-line connectivity between energy suppliers and the DSP —

The DSP, is operated by the DCC on behalf of the energy industry, collects consumption data from smart meters making it accessible to energy suppliers for billing and network management.

Nick Gliddon, CEO of Vodafone Business UK, said:
“We’re proud to expand our role in this national infrastructure by delivering the fixed connectivity that links energy providers directly to the DSP. This builds on our mobile network delivery and ensures critical energy data moves securely and reliably across the system.”

DCC CEO Chris Lovatt added:
“This new contract enables us to drive better outcomes for both our customers and energy users through a more advanced design.”

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-extends-role-smart-metering-programm-new-connectivity-deal/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-business-promotes-suite-sme-solutions-new-ad-campaign/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/news/article/vodafone-business-promotes-suite-sme-solutions-new-ad-campaign/#respond Mon, 22 Apr 2024 12:43:57 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/vodafone-business-promotes-suite-sme-solutions-new-ad-campaign/  Vodafone Business has launched ‘Your Business Can’, a new brand campaign aimed at helping small and medium sized businesses source the digital tools to enhance cybersecurity. Vodafone Business reckons 46 per cent of UK SMEs felt that they could increase profits and efficiency by making better use of digital tools, whilst 40 per cent admitted that

Auramo who has more than 25 years of experience in the global IT industry,  also joins Vodafone’s Executive Committee.

At the German internatonal software company she was responsible for SAP’s product portfolio across 89 countries and for managing 14,000 employees. She joined SAP in 1999 and held positions including COO EMEA North, Managing Director for the Nordic and Baltic region, Global COO of SAP Database and Data Management in the US, and Interim President of the EMEA region.

Margherita Della Valle, CEO of Vodafone Group, said: “I am delighted that Marika will be joining Vodafone to lead our Business division, a key growth driver. She brings extensive B2B experience from the IT industry, and I look forward to welcoming her as a member of our Executive Committee.”

Auramo said: “Vodafone Business has strong growth opportunities as large corporates, SMEs, and the public sector look to adopt more digital tools to enhance growth and productivity. I will be working alongside my new colleagues to capture this.”

The “Sustainable Business Growth for SMEs” additiom will offer resources include informative articles, interactive webinars, and contributions from experts environmental conservation and sustainability, such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Carbon Trust.

Vodafone says SMEs account for 99 per cent of enterprises and over 61 per cent of total employment.

“The shift towards sustainability has become a decisive factor for clients and consumers when choosing business partners. However, despite the growing impetus, a recent survey involving more than 2,000 UK-based SMEs unveiled a concerning trend. While the majority felt the pressure to bolster their sustainability efforts, a third believed adopting sustainable practices would be prohibitively expensive**.

“By providing accessible, actionable insights, Vodafone Business seeks to equip SMEs with the tools needed to navigate the terrain of sustainability seamlessly. This initiative is poised to be a beacon of change, fostering a more sustainable and competitive landscape for SMEs while fostering a collective responsibility towards a greener future”, the network said.

Vodafone Business and Lenovo Connect have teamed up to offer a customised IoT service to allow customers with Lenovo smart devices to automatically connect ver Vodafone’s global IoT network. Lenovo devices will have a Vodafone Business IoT SIM integrating with the Lenovo Connect App.

Lenovo Connect is an IoT subsidiary of Lenovo LCIG. It focuses on two smart interactive devices and smart connected vehicles.

The service launches in Spain in May and will connect over 40,000 devices with the Lenovo Connect App for Spanish customers. It will later be rolled out across Europe.

Vodafone Spain tweaked its IoT platform to comply with Spanish regulation whilst meeting Lenovo Connect’s ambition of enabling devices to be always connected.

Vodafone Business’ leadership runs more than 159  million IoT SIMs and growing. The European IoT industry is projected to reach $12.3 billion by 2031, having grown 19 per cent from 2022 to 2031, and the partnership will enable customers to maximise the potential of this technology.

“Lenovo Connect and Vodafone will leverage technology, complementary resources, and platform integration to build higher-quality international intelligent connectivity services to help enterprises embark on their digital and intelligent transformation journey,” said Wang Shuai, VP of Lenovo Group and CEO of Lenovo Connect,

Vodafone Business has launched a partnership with Euan Blair”s skills training organisation Multiverse, to improve the skills of SME employees.

Vodafone Business will provide small businesses with £18,000 each to improve the skills of existing employees in a pilot partnership with Multiverse. The money is coming from Vodafone’s Apprenticeship Levy.

SMEs can apply for a fully-funded place on Multiverse’s Business Transformation Fellowship where UK employees will receive training and accreditation alongside their current roles.

Half of UK small and medium-sized businesses have axed plans to take on apprentices because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research by Vodafone Business.

More than 1,000 SME business leaders across the UK were polled. Around 60 per cent of firms have taken on apprentices in the past. At least 51 per cent had axed their schemes because of soaring business costs such as energy and transport.

The UK government introduced the apprenticeship levy in 2017. Organisations with a payroll of more than £3 million must put 0.5 per cent of their total wage costs into the levy. The money funds apprentices or equivalent work-based learning programmes across critical disciplines such as cloud, Cyber, data DevOps, digital marketing, software development, and more.

Vodafone Business says more work is needed to inform SMEs on the options available to them regarding apprenticeship opportunities, it seems 44 per cent of SMEs are unaware of t financial support packages available through third-party schemes to employ new staff or provide training opportunities to upskill their workforce. Vodafone Business research indicates 21 per cent of SMEs said this level of support would take on an apprentice.

“SMEs are often forgotten when discussions about apprenticeships take place. Barriers such as costs and time make it harder for them. Our focus is to make life easier for businesses”, said Vodafone business director Nick Gliddon.

“Ensuring the right digital skills are in place is essential for any business. Apprenticeship schemes are the best way to deliver these through applied, on-the-job learning. Vodafone’s donation will enable small businesses to invest in their people and develop to their full potential”, added Multiverses president Jeremy Duggan.

Apply for finds for your business register here

Radius, a global mobility and connectivity company, won twice at the Vodafone Business Awards.

The Radius telecoms arm- Radius Connect- won Total Communications Partner of the year for its innovative approach to communications solutions, commitment to delivering a connected world, and continuing to provide great customer service.

Ray Ferris, group managing director of Radius Connect said: “We are proud of the special relationship we are building with Vodafone. As our business continues to grow rapidly across the UK & Europe we look forward to strengthening the strategic relationship to deliver against our plans to provide best-in-class mobility and connectivity solutions.”

The Radius Telematics branch was also named IOT partner of the year, and Greville Coe, managing director of Radius Telematics added: “Vodafone continues to support us in striving for a connected world through our vehicle and asset tracking solutions and we’re proud to be recognised as a key partner in their strategy for innovation. Our relationship with Vodafone continues to grow as we expand both as a division and as Radius Group.”