Johannesburg, 26 Oct 2016
Some 54% of South African organisations polled in a new global study, The Security Imperative: Driving Business Growth in the App Economy, commissioned by CA Technologies, report improved customer retention owing to their IT security practices. The research, conducted by Coleman Parkes among 1 770 senior executives, including more than 100 CSOs and CISOs, reveals that South African organisations specifically record a 32% increase in customer satisfaction, a 30% increase in revenue from new business through improved IT security, and a 33% increase in operational efficiency.
In the app economy, security needs to do more than just protect the business; it also needs to help build the trusted relationships critical for competing and growing the business. The majority of South African survey respondents endorsed this expanded view of security:
* 71% said identity-centric security is critical to the business.
* 73% said they need to balance strong security with enabling the business to get into new markets.
* 72% of respondents said that security is critical to protecting the brand and can be viewed as a competitive differentiator.
* 75% said that security needs to be frictionless and not over burden the user.
* More than 60% of respondents are using metrics such as customer experience, satisfaction and retention; business growth; and digital reach to measure the impact of security on the business.
"This data shows that identity-centric security is the killer app for digital transformation," says Michael Horn, security business unit manager, CA Southern Africa. "In the application economy, customers want failsafe security and a frictionless experience. Identity-centric security applies consistent security measures across channels, allowing organisations to improve how they protect and support business operations while driving customer confidence and business growth."
Identity-centric security helps ensure an organisation's security practices do not infringe on the overall user experience. It requires organisations to implement more adaptive identity and access management (IAM) controls and to take a more proactive and predictive approach to preventing and detecting data breaches.
South African organisations also experience improvements in other areas of the business through improved security:
* 77% confirm that their security practices help them attract and retain talent - the third highest EMEA score after the UK and France.
* 69% have increased digital reach.
* 62% have improved the customer experience.
* South African organisations report a 33% increase in employee productivity.
Data breaches remain a concern among South African organisations
According to the study, 39% of South African organisations reported an increase in IT security breaches over the last 12 months, while 9% saw a decrease. Proactive and predictive processes can greatly enhance an organisation's ability to detect and prevent data breaches. However, only 6% of respondents can anticipate breach risk before it occurs and just 6% use controls that are adaptive based on risk.
Advanced use of identity-centric security pays off with increased revenue and fewer data breaches
The study also examined EMEA organisations' current security postures in three areas of identity-centric security: the end-user experience, identity and access management and data breaches. This information allowed CA Technologies and Coleman Parkes to create a maturity model for identity-centric security, categorising respondents as advanced, basic, or limited.
Overall, the EMEA results categorised the majority of respondents as basic users of identity-centric security (68%), with a focus on core capabilities such as password management, single sign-on and some analysis and reporting. Nineteen percent were categorised as advanced users, engaging in capabilities such as adaptive security and behaviour analytics, and consistent omni-channel security support. The analysis showed that advanced users in EMEA report significant improvements over basic users in areas of customer experience, business operations, and security:
* Advanced users saw a 34% improvement in business growth and new revenue compared to 29% for basic users.
* 93% of advanced users reported increased customer retention compared to 75% of basic users.
* 89% of advanced users experienced improvement in customer experience versus 66% of basic users.
* In terms of security, 34% of advanced users of identity-centric security have seen a reduction in data breaches compared to 24% of basic users.
Effective identity-centric security: a roadmap
The study closes with seven critical actions South African organisations need to take to adopt an identity-centric approach to security, and ensure the strategy improves performance and drives growth. Organisations should:
* Make identity the perimeter of the organisation.
* Treat security as a business enabler.
* Focus on creating trusted digital relationships.
* Protect experiences, not just data.
* Take an adaptive approach to IAM.
* Be proactive and predictive.
* Never compromise security for speed.
The unveiling of these results coincides with European Cyber Security Month (ECSM) taking place during October 2016. The annual campaign, which is supported by CA Technologies, is driven by the European Commission and the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security. ECSM aims to raise awareness of cyber security threats, promote cyber security among citizens and provide up to date security information, through education and sharing of good practices.
Download the report and infographic
* The Security Imperative: Driving Business Growth in the App Economy
* The Security Imperative Infographic
About the research/Coleman Parkes
Conducted by Coleman Parkes, the study included 1 770 senior business and IT executives, including more than 100 CSOs and CISOs, from large enterprises across 21 countries and 10 industry sectors. The study and data analysis was done from May - September 2016. Coleman Parkes Research, formed in 2000, provides action-focused marketing research on a global scale. The company offers a full research and consultancy service across all markets, while specialising in business-to-business research with a focus on IT, technology and communications research. For more information, please visit www.coleman-parkes.co.uk.
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