Report: Spending on IT Security to Continue Growing in '09

According to new data released by Forrester Research (News - Alert), spending on IT security will continue to grow next year.

 

The Forrester Business Data Services survey polled over 1,200 North American enterprise and SMB security decision-makers and revealed that 21 percent of respondents expect to increase their IT security budgets in 2009.

 

While nearly three-quarters of those surveyed don’t expect cutbacks in their security spending, 6 percent of respondents expect having to cut their security budget in 2009 despite the current economic uncertainty.

 

Forrester Research Principal Analyst Khalid Kark noted that Security & Risk professionals are now in a renaissance period, and security’s influence is growing within organizations.

 

The study indicates that security makes up 10 percent of overall IT operating budgets in 2008, up from 8 percent in 2007. Also, around 50 percent of respondents report to a board/CEO or an executive committee and security is no longer embedded within IT.

 

Forrester Research’s data also shows that data protection is critical as over half of respondents said that protecting corporate IP and customer data was their top priority for the next 12 months. The companies have also begun to realize the significance of having business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place with forty-two percent of respondents saying it was very important.

 

Kark finds this an exciting time to be in security and observed that Security & Risk professionals are faced with a rapidly changing technology landscape and business environment. These professionals need to be open to new ideas and embrace change in order to achieve success in the role today.

 

More than 250 Security & Risk professionals are attending Forrester’s Security Forum to learn how they can stimulate and promote business change — and protect the business amid them — by introducing a mix of governance practices, structured processes, and new technologies.

 

Forrester’s Leadership Boards’ Security & Risk Management Council also met prior to the Forum. The one-day program provided Board members a valuable opportunity to understand how they and their peers are effectively managing security and risk amid a rapidly changing business environment.