From 18 pc to 25 pc, security to cut more slice of CIO's wallet and mind too

INDIA: Improving the mobile customer experience is coming up as a top security priority (42 per cent), second only to protecting against data breach (56 per cent). In addition, 49 per cent of respondents say mobility has a big or significant impact on security practices and policies with respect to customers.

Protection is still the main driver for security, but a new study released reveals that organizations understand the application economy demands a new view and approach to security. The study, sponsored by CA Technologies and titled “8 Steps to Modernize Security for the Application Economy,” shows how mobility, APIs and an eye toward growing the business have brought a balanced view of control and enablement to security.

“Today we need to live in a security-first world — light-years from the days when security was an afterthought and bolted on after a service or application was deployed,” said Amit Chatterjee, executive vice president, CA Technologies. “With the application economy going full-throttle in the hyper-connected world of people, devices and expanding ambient data, businesses realize that security goes beyond protection. The same tools that govern who and what can access our data, also can deliver a frictionless and positive customer experience and contribute to business growth in a variety of ways.”

CA expects the mobility-related numbers to expand as mobility, BYOD and the Internet of Things drive an increasingly “unwired enterprise” where perpetual connectivity adds a complexity and security risk that must be addressed for employees, customers and partners.

It highlights how success in the application economy requires businesses to innovate and release applications more quickly, and API-assembled apps will lead the way. To facilitate that need, 79 per cent of respondents are opening their data as APIs to accelerate mobile and web application delivery, improve customer engagements and open new revenue channels and opportunities. This adds new considerations to the protection factor of security.

Some 78 per cent of respondents have seen or expect to see increased revenue from new services enabled by improved security. A new view toward security and the protection and enablement it offers has sparked an increase in security investment. According to respondents, 25 per cent of all IT spending will be devoted to security in the next three years, up from 18 per cent today.