Wednesday, 8 October 2008

IT Security Risk a Significant Innovation Inhibitor

Whilst many organizations believe in the power of innovation to remain competitive, IT security risks still remain as the key obstacle that is currently deterring companies from executing innovation opportunities.

According to an IDC study, commissioned by RSA, 80% out of the 200 top business executives and security professionals polled admitted that their organizations have 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, pointing to a surprising lack of alignment between the expectations of C-level management and the priorities of security professionals.

And while the need to link IT security strategies directly to business goals is a widely-recognized imperative, only 21 % of respondents believe their organizations have successfully made the transition to an approach that is proactive and business-aligned, and enables rather than impedes innovation.

“Today’s businesses cannot grow in the absence of a healthy environment for the realization of new innovations,” says Chris Christiansen, Vice President, IDC.

“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 don’t need to be competing priorities; they are in fact complementary.

“In the end, we believe organizations 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 organizational goals.”