Cybersecurity Business Proposal: A Comprehensive Strategy

This document presents a comprehensive business proposal for a cybersecurity firm, XYZ, based in London, UK. It addresses the growing need for robust cybersecurity solutions in a world increasingly reliant on cyberspace. The proposal details the company's mission to provide networking, system hardening, technical support, cryptography, programming, advisory, consultancy, and training services. It includes a market analysis, identifying key trends and target markets such as financial institutions, tech firms, healthcare organizations, and government agencies. The proposal outlines XYZ's competitive advantages, marketing and sales strategies, sources of income, and sales forecasts. It also covers operational plans, including production, location, legal aspects, personnel, and management organization. The financial plan includes start-up expenses, financial projections, and expansion and sustainability strategies. Furthermore, the document addresses risk management, business plan timelines, and the global relevance of the cybersecurity business, along with an ethical statement and legal compliance considerations. The goal is to establish XYZ as a leading cybersecurity organization within three years, recognized for its innovation and excellence in the industry.

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Cybersecurity
Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Executive Summary
The internet is changing the society by driving the growth of the economy and giving
individuals new method of cooperating and connecting with each other. Reduction in costs will
make the internet access easier and cheaper, permitting individuals in the UK and across the
globe to utilize it, feeding the flow of productivity and innovation and democratizing the
utilization of technology (Tyrer, 2015 p.7). It will cause the cyberspace to grow and as it
expands, the value of utilizing it will also grow. Increasing dependence on cyberspace causes
new opportunities as well as new threats.
While cyberspace promotes open societies and open markets, it also makes us open to
attack from those hackers, criminals and foreign intelligence services who want to cause harm by
damaging and compromising systems and sensitive data (Agwu, 2013 p.64). People are already
experiencing the effects and as the dependences on cyberspace increases the impacts will grow.
The networks on which people depend for their everyday lives surpass national and
organizational boundaries (Liu, 2017 p.43). Cyberspace events can occur at a fast speed,
transcending traditional responses. Even though there are massive ways of managing cyberspace
risks, they do not match the dynamic and complex environment. as such, a cyber-security
business is needed to enhance the game domestically and allow consistent cooperation with other
nations on a global response. Our cyber security business aims to help individuals and
organizations address the cyber security issue. It will be located in London, UK.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................5
Products and Services..................................................................................................................................5
Vision..........................................................................................................................................................6
Mission........................................................................................................................................................6
Market Analysis..........................................................................................................................................6
Market Trends.........................................................................................................................................6
Target Market..........................................................................................................................................7
Our Competitive Advantage....................................................................................................................8
Marketing and Sales Strategy..................................................................................................................8
Sources of Income...............................................................................................................................9
Sales Forecast....................................................................................................................................10
Advertising and Publicity Strategy............................................................................................................11
Pricing Strategy.........................................................................................................................................11
Payment Options.......................................................................................................................................12
Operational Plan........................................................................................................................................12
Production.............................................................................................................................................12
Location.................................................................................................................................................13
Legal Item.............................................................................................................................................13
Personnel...............................................................................................................................................13
Management Organization.........................................................................................................................13
Roles and Responsibilities.....................................................................................................................14
Personal Financial Status...........................................................................................................................17
Start-Up Expenses.....................................................................................................................................17
Financial Plan............................................................................................................................................18
Expansion and Sustainability Strategy.......................................................................................................18
Risk Management Program.......................................................................................................................19
Business Plan Time Plan...........................................................................................................................20
Business Plan Lifecycle.............................................................................................................................21
Global Relevance of Cyber Security Business...........................................................................................22
Ethical Statement Legal Compliance.........................................................................................................23
Reference List............................................................................................................................................24

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Introduction
The internet is a novelty that has transformed the world, and although it has been useful,
it has brought many problems, as a person or groups of individuals are committing cybercrimes
daily. Cybercrimes carried out range from personal to financial to national security issues among
others. They attack businesses, individuals and states by monitoring emails, tapping calls or
hacking websites to obtain confidential information (Longstaff, 2015 p.56). As such, more
efforts are focused on securing information from the people looking to utilize them for reasons
that contradicts the intentions of the owner. Starting a business of cybersecurity is thus a
productive business to consider because businesses, individuals and the state need to protect their
data. Nevertheless, when starting such kind of business, technical skills are needed to stop the
constant attack on clients or secure data.
Products and Services
At XYZ we aim to provide our clients services of cyber security that will allow them to
remain at the top in whatever businesses they are undertaking (Willems, 2011 p.18).
Nevertheless, since we provide services and also make revenue, we aim to raise our income
sources by providing extra services such as training and consultancy service. We aim to generate
revenue as is allowed under the laws of UK. The following are some of the services we aim to
provide our different clients:
 Networking
 System hardening
 Technical support

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 Cryptography
 Programming
 Advisory and consultancy services
 Training
Vision
The vision is to make sure that we are the leading top five cyber security organizations
within three years of ignition of our business. Besides, we aim for people to acknowledge as for
our creativeness in the world of cyber security.
Mission
To achieve the vision, we aim to establish the most excellent business structure. XYZ
aims to meet and surpass customer’s expectations.
Market Analysis
Market Trends
In 2015, the healthcare area was hit by main breaches that compromised about 80 million
records. It did not begin in 2015, since 2009, around one-third of people in UK have been
affected by breaches in many healthcare organizations. As such, many healthcare firms have
invested in cyber security to safeguard their customer’s data (Alguliyev, Imamverdiyev and
Sukhostat, 2018 p.219). Besides, criminals around the world are using the internet to aim the UK
in different ways.

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There exist crimes that are in the world, in specific those that aim the integrity of online
services and computer networks. attacks are using cyberspace as a channel to commit crimes
such as fraud. Fraud and identity theft online now minimizes offline equivalents. The internet has
offered opportunities for people looking to exploit the weak and children. Cyberspace permits
attackers to aim the UK from other area of authority around the world, making it difficult to
strengthen the law.
Target Market
Every person in UK with connected machines is vulnerable to cyberattacks (Horowitz and
Lucero, 2017 p.66). Nevertheless, to have the appropriate information on who the company is
concentrating on, XYZ aims on carrying out a market survey that will permit them to understand
their actual target market. The market research will permit the firm to determine what the target
market expect from them. As such, XYZ is in the industry of cyber security to offer their
services to the following businesses and people:
 Financial institutions
 Tech firms
 Small enterprises
 Military
 Healthcare organizations
 Government agencies
 Celebrities
 Educational firms
 Political companies

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Our Competitive Advantage
The reason for beginning XYZ company is to make sure that we provide our customers
cyber security services that will hinder attackers from attacking them (Tsoumas and Gritzalis,
2012 p.801). The company aims to be among the leading three in the UK industry of cyber
security and among top five chosen firms by the target market. The company has established
various competitive strategies that will enable them to compete against their rivals. XYZ
understand the market of cyber security and their goods are preventive in nature. As such, many
organizations will choose our security designs that will allow the continuity of their business.
Besides, XYZ have a large number of competent personnel who understand the market of
cyber security and who have the ability to start our business from scratch and make it the leader
in UK (Barnard-Wills and Ashenden, 2012 p.115). The company is continuously making sure
that their staff remain zealous to meet and surpass client’s expectations, both domestic and
corporate. In addition, the employees are better paid than other similar establishments in London.
Besides, the company is adapted with trends and makes sure all workers undergo training and
attend seminars frequently to improve their skills, thus enhancing productivity of the firm.
Marketing and Sales Strategy
Marketing is essential in generating revenue for the growth of the business and also assist
in creating awareness for not new and existing clients of the business. As such, XYZ is
conducting a comprehensive marketing strategy that will allow them know their target market,
what they need from them, and what the company should expect from their target customers

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(Shellberg, 2013 p.72). Besides, the marketing research is important as it allows the company to
know the effective strategies they should put in place and the amount of money needed to
conduct marketing that will permit them to compete against their rivals.
In addition, XYZ has adopted services of a reliable marketing consulting company in
London who have handled organizations similar to theirs. The reason for using a marketing
consulting company emerged from the need of obtaining all the necessary assistance that will
permit them achieve their objectives and goals (Couzigou, 2018 p.43). The company also aims
on strengthening their sales and marketing team to make sure that marketing strategies made for
the company are in accordance with their goals, values and philosophies. As such, the marketing
team is allowed to modify or remove inefficient strategies that may damage the company.
The marketing strategies that will be adopted by XYZ include:
 Formally present XYZ by sending elementary letter to financial institutions, tech
companies, healthcare firms, government agencies among others in the market of cyber
security
 Through a fancy party to open the cyber security company. It will assist in creating
awareness about the company
 Place adverts in national and local tech magazines, television stations, newspapers and
radio channels about XYZ firm
 Engage in sales and direct marketing by negotiating with customers
 Place advertising boards in planned locations all around London
 Use XYZ social media channels and other tech channel to actively market the company
Sources of Income

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XYZ will create revenue by proving the following services:
 Networking
 System hardening
 Technical support
 Cryptography
 Programming
 Advisory and consultancy services
 Training
Sales Forecast
The digital structure on which people depend on was developed to be interoperable and
efficient. When internet was in its infancy, security was of less concern (Lehto, 2013 p.11).
Nevertheless, as the internet grows, the matters become more of a consideration. People want
assurance that the networks that promote their economic prosperity, national security and their
personal lives are resilient and safe. Unfortunately, many attackers are using cyberspace to
compromise, steal and damage sensitive data. The people’s reliance scale suggests that their
major infrastructure, homes, prosperity and workplaces can all be affected. As such, the 2010
National Security Strategy of UK government recognized cyberattacks as one of their top
priorities for action.
XYZ have conducted a vital analysis of the cybercrime market to identify their sales
forecast (Gehm, 2011 p.30). In carrying out their sales forecast, they used assumptions and
information from similar establishments in London and other parts of UK. Based on the
information and data collected, the XYZ sales projections were as follows:

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 First financial year: 550,000 pounds
 Second financial year: 1,000,000 pounds
 Third financial year: 2,100,000 pounds
Advertising and Publicity Strategy
XYZ has adopted services of a reliable publicity consulting company in London with the
expertise and appropriate knowledge to assist them in drafting strategies that will positively
communicate their brand and permit them to stand out and compete effectively against their
rivals (Peters, 2016 p.3). Some of the advertising and publicity strategies that XYZ would
employ to support their company are:
 Attend appropriate software and tech seminars to interact and increase awareness of their
brand
 Establish trial cyber security products version for consumers and allow them purchase the
original after they are contented with the services from their goods
 Utilize social media channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus to
actively promote their brand
 Build an interactive website
 Take part in and sponsor appropriate society programs in London
 Distribute fliers and handbills in planned locations in London
Pricing Strategy
Identifying the appropriate price for XYZ services and products will rely on factors such
as the services and products categories our customers need, what our rivals are providing, how

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powerful our goods are, how special our products are and what our running expenses and
overhead would be (Marks, 2009 p.19). Since there is high competition in the market, XYZ aims
to provide discounted price on some products for the first month of functionality to raise
awareness for our goods and attract more clients to buy from us. Although we will be providing a
discounted price, our assessments have demonstrated that even though we will have a low gross
margin, we will not run at a loss.
Payment Options
Customers will pay through the following payment options:
 Payment through check
 Payment through POS machine
 Payment through credit card
 Cash payment
 Payment through online payment portal
 Payment through bank draft
The payments options were selected to address the diverse client’s need. These platforms will
operate consistently without any sort of hurdles.
Operational Plan
Production
The company offices will be operational for five days a week Monday to Friday reporting
time being 7am and closure at 5.30pm. The team members will spear head operation of the
company at the start without partners or associates.

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Location
For the start we hope to get an office space at Adelaide House along King William Street,
London. XYZ will only be registered after getting a physical office. However, as the company
grows, we hope to shift to a much bigger office space with a conference room, technical offices,
customer service unit, administrative offices, and marketing and planning offices.
Legal Item
The company will seek legal advice to make sure that all the laws pertaining businesses in
UK are met. Such laws include work permits, bonding and licensing requirements, workplace,
health, and environmental regulations, Building code requirements, trademarks, patents,
copyrights, insurance coverage, tax regulations, and special regulations.
Personnel
Our team is made up of a chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Marx who is a fourth-year
student with excellent knowledge in cybersecurity. The marketing and sales will be handled by
Dinah Kelvin with great customer relationship skills. She has excellent marketing skills and
natural aura with public speaking. Financial manager post will be handled by Erickson Erick who
as good mathematical and statistical knowledge. However, as the company grows, we hope to add
more employees and engage more partners and associates.
Management Organization
XYZ aims to establish a standard cyber security company in London. We have established
processes and plans that will make sure that we are in the right direction from the start as we
purpose to go the extra mile of selecting the most excellent workers to work with us. XYZ team

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of management involves skillful and experienced people who has been attuned to the company’s
corporate objectives and goals. Since we will be running a unique cyber security company
particularly regarding to the various services that would be providing, XYZ will employ many
employees to address the different objectives and roles that will come up. The following is the
business structure the company aims at building for the cyber security company.
 CEO (chief executive officer)
 Accountant
 Chief Information Security Officer
 Customer Service Executive
 Cleaner
 Drivers
 Administrative Manager
 Human Resources Manager
 Security Administrator
 Sales and Marketing Team
 Security Guard
Roles and Responsibilities
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
 Make the appropriate strategies and policies that will act as the direction of the company
 Gathers the appropriate management staff and assigns particular responsibilities to them
 Negotiates and meets with clients of high level on behalf of the company
Administrative Manager

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 Make sure that the administrative activities are conducted smoothly
 Make sure that other management personnel are attuned with policies of the company
 Controls daily affair of the company
Accountant
 Prepares financial statements, information and reports of the company
 Perform financial forecast and internal audit
 Prepares tax files and make sure that it is sent to the appropriate authorities
Human Resources Manager
 Employs experienced and competent personnel
 Makes policies of human resource and makes sure they are followed
 Makes sure workers go through training
Chief Information Security Officer
 Establishes the vision of the company and make strategy to make sure that the company’s
technologies and information are safeguarded
 Assigns security resources effectively
Security Administrator
 Creates system security against unauthenticated modifications or access from external
threats
 Sets up the appropriate security tools such as firewalls, anti-virus software and patch
management systems
 Carries out networking and vulnerability scanning evaluations

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Customer Service Executive
 Responds properly to orders and inquiries of customers
 Remains informed and aware of policies of the company and industry trends to give
clients correct information
 Updates the database of the customer
Sales and Marketing Team
 Conduct market analysis that would identify new target markets for the company
 Negotiates and meets with customers on behalf of the company
 Conducts sales and direct marketing with the goal of creating revenue and achieving
corporate sales objectives of the company
Cleaner
 Makes sure the offices are always clean
 Makes sure that cleaning stock are supplied
Security Guard
 Guides the offices against any trespassers
 Observes the surveillance camera to hinder any distrustful person or activity
Drivers
 Carries out official assignments on behalf of the company
 Makes sure the traffic regulations and rules are followed and a logbook stored on behalf
of the company
 Conducts vehicle preventive maintenance.

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Personal Financial Status
None of the team members have any liabilities or assets apart outside the company from the CEO,
Peter Marx. Peter Marx has an IT firm that deals with supply of ICT equipment which earns him
approximately 1500 pound annually.
Start-Up Expenses
The major areas where XYZ aims to use their star-up funds on are:
 Total registration fee for XYZ in London, UK- 800 pounds
 Acquiring the required licenses, customer and accounting software, permits and other
legal expenses- 2300 pounds
 Insurance policy (employee’s compensation, general liability and property insurance)-
2050 pounds
 Renting a building for use for about four years and conducting renovations-100,000
pounds
 Hiring costs of a business consultant -2050 pounds
 Cost of operation for the first 4 months (utility bills payment and employee’s salaries)-
155,000 pounds
 Other start-up expenditures (bug tracking, software subscription, virus detection software,
anti-virus and cable broadband)-20,000 pounds
 Expenses on marketing promotion-5500 pounds
 Administrative costs (phone, printers, business cards, stamps, stationery, computers,
furniture and office supplies)-35000 pounds
 Cost of buying a second hand van- 25,000 pounds

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 Cost of starting a website-1500 pounds
 Expenses for throwing a fancy party-5500 pounds
 Miscellaneous – 8,500 pounds
From the above estimation, XYZ need approximately 363,200 pounds if it aims to develop
and run a successful and standard business in London.
Financial Plan
XYZ is run and owned by Peter Marx. Since XYZ is not looking for an external investor to
join the business, it will thus generate funds from other areas (Hechavarria, Matthews and
Reynolds, 2014 p.17077). The following are the various sources where XYZ aims to generate
their start-up funds from:
 Create funds from stocks sales and savings
 Look for funds from online crowdfunding sites
 Request for loan from investment banks
Expansion and Sustainability Strategy
XYZ priority is to make sure that the business is running consistently as long as they
need it to be in the industry and as such, we have focused on factors that will allow us expand
and sustain our business of cyber security in London (Popovic-Citic, 2009 p.46). The factors the
company aims to focus on are making sure they develop the appropriate business structure, get
involved in efficient advertising and publicity strategies and make sure that they maintain a high
number of customers. Besides, XYZ understand how essential their clients are and they will
make sure that all workers embrace the best client culture.

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Risk Management Program
All systems are vulnerable to risk and threats (Mateen and Abbas, 2016 p.31). The risk
management program goal is risk identification, recognition of the probability of risk occurrence
and their effect on the business and placing security measures that control risks to a level
agreeable to the company. Besides, to mitigation and assessment, a strong program of risk
management involves constant assessment and evaluation of cyber security controls and risks
throughout the life process of smart grid element software (Patel, 2012 p.29). The following are
some of the best controls and practices that XYZ should consider implementing.
 Offer visible and active sponsorship
 Allocate security risk management responsibility to a senior director
 Define the system
 Classify and identify vital cyber assets
 Analyze and identify the ESPs (electronic security perimeters)
 Conduct a vulnerability analysis (Akhgar and Staniforth, 2011 p.93)
 Analyze risks to assets and system information
 Assess and monitor the efficiency of controls

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Business Plan Time Plan

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Stablishing measurable objectives and setting goals is one essential aspect in any business plan.
It is not enough to just know the objectives and goals you want to achieve with the business. As a
manager it is necessary to determine and be responsible with the schedule that entails the
business milestones.
Business Plan Lifecycle

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Global Relevance of Cyber Security Business
The current world is greatly connected from government infrastructure to personal
banking. Safeguarding those connections is compulsory. Cyber risk is among the global agenda
priority as high prominence violation increase fears that hack attacks and other failures of
security could put at risk the global economy. The WEF (world Economic Forum) published the
global risks in 2015 stating that 90% of organizations across the globe acknowledge they are
inadequately prepared to safeguard themselves against cyberattacks. Businesses and
governments across the globe are looking for better strategies of cyber defense. As such, cyber
security is an urgent matter.
The intelligence agency of UK, GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters,
which offers services and advises to safeguard data networks and national voice, approximates
81 % of business in UK have faced some kind of breach. Therefore, our cyber security business
will assist organizations and governments to develop an information risk management system
that determines the security risks it experiences and the policy for addressing them. We will help
them adopt a standard measure of security and manage how the systems are used and configured.
Besides, we will assist in disabling unrequired functions and perform regular update of the
security patches. In addition, we will install antivirus software and frequently check for malware.
Cyber security is the top relevant issues across the globe. Criminals always target
computer networks and as these networks expand danger of breaches of cyber security in future
will increase. We help organizations to take sensible precautions that can reduce losses brought
by attackers. With the appropriate expert external assistance and level of preparation, it is
possible to manage damages and return to form after cyber breach and its effects.

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Ethical Statement Legal Compliance
Although there is a rising need to safeguard all businesses interest in cyber space, there
are no laws or regulations that have been established particularly for cyber security. Following
incentives and regulations of cybersecurity in 2016, the government is looking to enhance cyber
risk management in the broader economy of UK through:
 The introduction of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
 Connecting cyber security and data protection
The key legislation needed for compliance is the DPA (Data Protection Act) 1998. Proper
organizational and technical measures are taken against unlawful or unauthorized processing of
individual information and against accidental destruction or loss of personal information.

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