Across many industries, Cyber Security spending has flatlined on a per business basis, according to new data from a Gartner report. This research identified that spending has been stalling since 2016 when going off two measures. These were the portion of IT spending on security and the amount and cyber security spending per employee.
And, on these indicators, the results seem conclusive. During 2021, the median percentage that companies spend on their digital security protocols was 5pc, up only marginally from 4.8pc in 2017.
Meanwhile, spending per employee on cyber security has decreased slightly over the past five years. The median spend was around £449, down from £451 back in 2016. It should be noted that spending as a proportion of company revenue did in fact increase, however this arguably has more to do with the effects of Covid than anything else.
What are the worries?
As we discussed in a Recent Article, investment in the latest cyber technology is a key factor when it comes to long-term business security. Therefore, the main concern around spending stagnation is that companies are failing to adapt. Essentially there is a fear that the IT security of businesses will fall behind the latest cyber threats and become more vulnerable to attacks as a result. So, is this currently happening?
Spending Smarter
Thankfully, the above concerns are yet to be realised. This is because cyber threats are somewhat involved in this stagnation, as companies look for better value and smarter ways to improve their security.
For instance, spending on security hardware might’ve dropped over the last two years from 15pc to 10pc, but spending on software protection solutions has gone up from 27pc to 32pc during the same period.
New trends such as the emergence of cloud-based systems have essentially shifted where security budgets need to go. This has allowed companies to keep up with the latest dangers whilst maintaining cost-efficiency. And, if the price for digital security solutions remains competitive, this stagnation could be set to continue, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
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