A new cyber security report from Vodafone, ‘Cyber Security: The Innovation Accelerator’, highlights a strong link between how cyber security is used and business success, with 86 percent of high-growth companies seeing information security as an enabler of new business opportunities.
The research showed a number of perceived benefits that strong cyber security can bring to the relationship between an organization and its customers:
- 89 percent of businesses said that improving cyber security would enhance customer loyalty and trust;
- 90 percent said it would enhance their reputation in the market, potentially attracting new customers;
- 89 percent said they felt better information security was a competitive differentiator that would help them win customers.
Organizations that use cloud technology or the Internet of Things (IoT), report greater returns from the way they use cyber security. IoT adopters report a 24 percent increase in financial benefits from having strong cyber security including improvements to their business agility.
More demanding customer requirements and the awareness of rising cyber threats are driving an increase in cyber security budgets, with 87 percent of businesses expecting to increase spending on cyber security in the next three years, and 10 percent of companies expecting budgets to double.
However, 41 percent of security decision-makers across industry sectors were uncertain about where best to find help in dealing with cyber security challenges. The engineering and construction sector was the most uncertain with 52 percent of organizations unsure of where to turn for advice.
The research showed particular challenges for smaller businesses with 60 percent of smaller companies feeling poorly informed about security.
Attitudes to the likelihood of cyber threats impacting an organization vary across geographies. Only 55 percent of Italian businesses worry about cyber security affecting their business while in the USA and Singapore that number rises to 73 percent. Smaller businesses are most concerned about permanent loss of data, while larger organizations are most concerned with regulation and compliance issues.
Cyber Security: The Innovation Accelerator gathered responses from more than 1,400 small, medium-sized and multinational corporations across eight countries. Download the report at www.vodafone.com/business/cybersecurityresearch
