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INDEX8 READINESS RESEARCH · SMALL BUSINESS

Small businesses are doing more than they can confidently show.

Take a short check to see where your team has readiness strengths, where records are scattered, and what to organize next.

The readiness gap

The readiness gap is the space between what a business has in place, what is written down, what is current, and what it can confidently show when someone asks. Index8 helps you close the gap across people, systems, policies, and response.

What the report measures

A picture of what good looks like.

The readiness gap score surfaces the spots where written rules and review cadence make the biggest difference. The check asks ten short questions across the topics below.

  • MFA
  • Backups
  • Password rules
  • Admin access
  • Employee training
  • Device security
  • Vendor access
  • Incident response
  • AI usage
  • Cyber insurance evidence
Readiness scorecard preview
Illustrative
Readiness Gap Score
72/ 100
Needs structure

A solid foundation across the four pillars. The remaining work is keeping records current and shareable.

PeopleNeeds work
68/ 100

2 open items

SystemsStrong
80/ 100

1 open item

PoliciesNeeds work
64/ 100

2 open items

ResponseStrong
76/ 100

1 open item

Open items6
Policies active4 of 8
Training complete82%
Last reviewedQ2 2026
READINESS GAP SCORE

Start the Small Business Readiness Gap Report.

Ten short questions. About three minutes. Your score and a recommended next action land at the end.

About 3 minutes. No account required.
Methodology and data notes

How we measure this.

How we measure this

Twelve self-reported questions across the four readiness pillars: people, systems, policies, and response. Each answer maps to a 0 to 3 weight and the result is normalized to a score out of one hundred.

What your score means

Your Readiness Gap Score is a single educational signal across the four pillars. The questions are designed to surface where the gap between practice and written record is widest.

What this does not claim

Not a certification. Not a compliance determination. Not a security guarantee. The score is educational and intended as a starting point for action with your team, broker, or advisor.

How aggregated trends may support future research

Anonymized and aggregated responses may inform future Small Business Readiness benchmarks. Individual responses are never published. Sample-size and methodology gates are documented in docs/research/future-benchmark-plan.md.

Early Index8 Research resources are field studies and educational tools. As response volume grows, Index8 may publish aggregate trends and annual benchmarks. Sample-size and methodology gates are documented before any public claim.

Next step

Turn your readiness gaps into a clear plan.