ICT spending drops, but investment in IT security a priority

Peter Dinham
Thursday, 08 October 2009 12:21

IT Industry - Market

Spending on ICT by companies around the world, including in Australia, has dropped significantly, with nearly half of 407 enterprises recently surveyed indicating they are reducing their overall spend this year, but maintaining the amount of money they allocate to security.

According to a survey by IDC, commissioned by Dimension Data, of companies in 18 countries in Western Europe, the Americas, the Middle-East, Africa and the Asia Pacific region, organisations are beginning to realise the value of taking a pro-active approach to security, with IT security spending remaining unchanged for 59 per cent of organisations during the period from 2008 to 2009.

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

Dimension Data’s general manager for security, Darren O’Loughlin, said the surveyed companies are shifting their investment focus away from point solutions to more holistic solutions, “with 59 percent planning to invest in IT security audits, 57 percent in data loss prevention (DLP), and 52 percent in consulting.

“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.”

According to O’Loughlin, Dimension Data is finding that its Australian clients are becoming more mature about security, and working with the company to develop a “security-aligned governance program that helps them address their compliance requirements more holistically.

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