IT
security fears are stifling business innovation at 80% of firms
worldwide, says research from analyst IDC.
The global weighted estimate of fear is based on interviews with
nearly 200 top business executives and security professionals at
large firms, mainly based in the US.
The research was conducted on behalf of security firm RSA, which
says it reveals "a growing chasm between security and
innovation".
"The inextricable link between security and innovation is clear,
but organisations are still really struggling with how to strike
the right balance between driving new innovations to market and
instituting effective IT security practices," said
RSA president Art Coviello.
"Security has long been a global business issue and this
research tells us it is a top priority for today's senior
management teams. There has never been a better time for companies
to make the cultural, philosophical and technological shifts
required to better align their security and business innovation
strategies," says Coviello.
The IDC research showed that 80% of those surveyed admitted that
their organisations had backed away from new innovation
opportunities because of information security concerns.
IDC also found that although 80% of CEOs believe their security
teams are being held formally accountable for their contributions
to business growth and innovation only 44% of security leaders
believe they are being measured on their contributions to
innovation.
This finding "points to a surprising lack of alignment between
the expectations of C-level management and the priorities of
security professionals", said RSA.
And whilst the need to link IT security strategies directly to
business goals is a widely-recognised imperative, only 21% of
respondents believed their organisations have successfully made the
transition to an approach that is proactive and business-aligned,
and which enables rather than impedes innovation.
Chris Christiansen, an analyst at IDC, said, "It is evident that
in spite of some good progress, the relationship between innovation
and security is still very strained. The reality is that innovation
and security do not need to be competing priorities, they are in
fact complementary.
"In the end, we believe organisations that demand early IT
involvement in business innovation efforts, and lay out explicit
business innovation metrics for their security teams, have a much
better chance of advancing their overall organisational goals."