Published on the 12/10/2009 | Written by Newsdesk

Research commissioned by Dimension Data and conducted by IDC shows that organisations are beginning to realise the value of taking a proactive approach to IT security.

However, while business awareness of the importance of a comprehensive IT security strategy is growing, the research showed that for the majority of companies overall ICT spending dropped from 2008 to 2009 due to the global economic crisis. Yet IT security spending remained unchanged for 59% of organisations during that period.

“The surveyed companies – 407 companies in 18 countries in Western Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific (including Australia) – are shifting their investment focus away from point solutions to more holistic solutions, with 59 percent planning to invest in IT security audits, 57% in data loss prevention (DLP), and 52% in consulting,” says Darren O’Loughlin, Dimension Data’s general manager for security.

“These findings indicate a growing realisation among organisations of all sizes that reacting to security incidents, and ad hoc acquisition of point technologies without regard to how they dovetail with others, is more costly and less effective than planning an integrated strategy. They’re also realising that IT is the principal vehicle for enabling business, and if their IT assets are not secured, their business is at enormous risk. So they’re turning to specialists in governance and risk management to tackle IT security holistically,” O’Loughlin says.

“We’re finding that our Australian clients are becoming more mature about security, and working with us to develop a security-aligned governance program that helps them address their compliance requirements more holistically. They’re looking at putting in place an information security framework that works for their specific governance needs, rather than just implementing disparate point solutions.”