Cybersecurity is no longer something businesses can treat as a specialist add-on. In my conversations across Cardiff, it is front of mind – not because companies are suddenly more technical, but because they are more connected, more digital and more exposed than ever before.
What has changed is not just the threat landscape. It is the way businesses operate. Order management systems run in real time. Client platforms are integrated directly into internal systems. Cloud-based tools sit at the centre of day-to-day activity. Data flows constantly between offices, homes, suppliers and customers. In that environment, connectivity and cybersecurity cannot be separated.
At Elevate, we see this every day through the rollout of Cardiff’s hypercity network. The network consists of 170 kilometres of new full fibre infrastructure installed across large parts of the city. The scheme is the result of a £7.5 million collaboration between Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government, and Elevate was appointed following a tender process to build a dedicated, independent fibre network capable of delivering speeds of up to 10Gbps. It gives businesses an alternative to older copper connections and costly leased lines, providing faster installation times and greater resilience.
When we install a new high-capacity connection, we are not simply improving speed. We are enabling more data to move more quickly between systems. That naturally leads to questions about how that data is secured.
A recent example was a logistics company operating in the city centre. Their systems track deliveries in real time, integrate with client platforms and manage sensitive commercial information. A new fibre connection strengthens their operational capability, but it also reinforces the importance of reviewing cyber controls. The infrastructure creates opportunity – and responsibility.
For larger organisations, there may already be a head of IT or a dedicated security function. In those cases, our role is to ensure that our network integrates cleanly with the controls already in place. But many growing businesses do not have that luxury. They may have expanded quickly, perhaps to 100 employees or more, and suddenly find that connectivity, network management and cybersecurity all sit on the same desk.
I recently spoke with a head of digital at a marketing agency who put it plainly: his expertise was website creation, yet he found himself responsible for infrastructure and he was aware that cybersecurity was rising up the priority list. That situation is not unusual. Most leaders understand that cyber risk is real. The difficulty is finding the time and clarity to address it properly.
What I am seeing is an awareness that cybersecurity is increasingly tied to growth. Businesses bidding for larger contracts are being asked to evidence resilience. Supply chains are scrutinising credentials. Procurement teams want reassurance that suppliers will not introduce operational risk. Cyber maturity is becoming part of commercial credibility.
That is why I believe connectivity upgrades should always prompt a broader conversation. Where are you today in terms of cyber posture? What vulnerabilities exist? What are your growth ambitions, and will future clients expect formal certification or demonstrable controls? These are not abstract questions. They are practical considerations for any organisation that intends to scale.
For SMEs in particular, there is an opportunity. Some will delay these decisions. Others will take a structured, incremental approach, implementing multi-factor authentication, reviewing patching routines, engaging the right specialist partners. Those that move early are likely to find themselves better positioned when the demands of procurement frameworks or larger customers increase.
None of this requires a dramatic overhaul overnight. It can begin with a short, focused assessment. A half-hour conversation can identify where you stand and what proportionate steps make sense. Cybersecurity should be scalable and aligned with the size and ambition of the business.
Cardiff’s hypercity network provides the digital backbone for the city’s businesses. But bandwidth alone does not create resilience. As organisations become more connected and more reliant on data, cybersecurity must develop alongside connectivity. If you are investing in faster infrastructure, it makes sense to ensure that your cyber foundations are keeping pace.
The two conversations now belong together.
