Polish SMEs as the foundation of national cybersecurity

The latest report, ‘Map of SMEs in the cybersecurity sector in Poland: diagnosis, needs, recommendations,’ is the most comprehensive study of the Polish cyber market.

Conclusions

81% of companies in the industry are micro and small enterprises, and only 19% are medium-sized companies.

Over 90% are companies with entirely Polish capital.

The main areas of activity are: penetration testing, audits, SOC, training, network security, IAM, consulting and endpoint protection.

The biggest barriers to development: lack of access to financing, complex formal procedures, lack of specialists and high certification costs.

77% of companies have never used public financial support, and 87% have not applied for expansion funds.

42% of companies plan to grow through automation, SaaS services and entry into foreign markets.

Regulations are seen as both a challenge and an opportunity – they increase demand for services, but also require costly compliance.

Photo: https://pl.freepik.com/

Recommendations

Simplify access to finance for SMEs.

Support the certification and regulatory compliance process.

Strengthening areas such as sales, marketing and international expansion.

Establishment of a foreign expansion fund.

Construction of incubators, accelerators and cyber sandboxes for testing new technologies.

Tax incentives for investors and VC funds.

Deregulation measures.

Promotion of Polish cybersecurity.

As a cybersecurity company and member of the CyberMadeInPoland Cluster, we fully confirm some of the challenges and phenomena described in the report. The cyber industry in Poland rests on the shoulders of SMEs, which drive the entire ecosystem with their knowledge, flexibility and commitment. It is people – their skills, creativity and passion – who are the greatest asset and ‘crown jewel’ of Polish cyber. However, the biggest barrier to development remains the lack of easy access to financing and investment capital. In many cases, it is not the lack of ideas or technology, but the lack of funds and predictable conditions for development that blocks further growth. The second, no less important barrier is the lack of global thinking, expansion strategies and professional technology marketing. Compared to US companies, Polish entities often perform very well technologically, but need support in commercialising and scaling their operations. Finally, what we believe is absolutely crucial is the stability and predictability of the legal and economic environment. If Poland wants to build a strong innovation sector, including cybersecurity, it should focus not on subsidy programmes, but above all on deregulation and stable law. It is a simple, transparent and equal economic system for all, without favouring foreign companies, that can create the conditions for the development of strong Polish cybersecurity companies that are globally competitive.

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Author: Sebastian Burgemejster