Small Business (SMB) stories - Page 3

Employment Hero appoints long-serving executive James Keene as APAC managing director to drive regional growth and AI-led expansion.

SonicWall's SonicSentry SOC cut short a Saturday night cyberattack, spotting rogue ScreenConnect activity and isolating a compromised PC.

Blended wired, wireless and PoE networks demand unified firewalls like SonicWall TZ to cut risk, complexity and long-term security costs.

Affinda rolls out a no-code AI Integration Agent to link its document platform with 2,800+ business systems using natural language prompts.

Dell debuts 14in and 16in Premium laptops with OLED screens, Intel Core Ultra chips and RTX graphics, targeting power users and creators.

Xero launches Accountable Intelligence AI to automate bookkeeping while keeping decisions, audit trails and financial oversight with humans.

Avalara opens registration for virtual event Avalara NEXT 2026, spotlighting “agentic” always-on tax and compliance automation for builders.

Decidr and ICON team up to bring AI-driven Procure-to-Pay automation to SAP users across Asia-Pacific, targeting high-volume finance tasks.

Entrepreneurs increasingly see AI as a tool for efficiency and cost-cutting, not a springboard to new markets or sustainability goals.

AI 'leaders' in finance rush to pilots but lack rules, data and governance to scale tools into core, high‑accountability workflows.

Mastercard launches Global Commerce Suite in Hong Kong, targeting SME cross-border payments as Asia Pacific digital trade surges.

SMBs are bullish on AI but a new ECI report finds poor data, scarce skills and unclear use cases are stalling real-world results.

AI is speeding up shorter workdays but piling on more tasks, with rising collaboration, multitasking and weekend work, a study finds.

Mastercard launches its Virtual C-Suite AI agents, starting with a Virtual CFO, to give small firms automated executive-style insights.

Cohesity debuts sovereign cloud tie-ups, AI-driven threat tools and midsize bundle to harden data protection as enterprises scale AI.

Ransomware attacks in Asia-Pacific surged 59% in 2025 as rapid digitalisation and AI adoption fuel faster, more targeted cyber extortion.

LastPass launches Secure Access Essentials, a browser-focused suite to secure access to workplace apps, SaaS and unsanctioned AI tools.

IVECO adds AI theft recovery to its connected services, offering 24/7 managed stolen vehicle assistance to boost commercial fleet security.

Nvidia survey finds AI now widely embedded in operations, driving revenue gains, cost cuts and fresh spend as firms move beyond pilots.

Wise forecasts that by 2026 agentic AI will run core business tasks, pushing firms to embed tools, tighten oversight and rethink outsourcing.