Fragmented cybersecurity is costing businesses billions, and putting them at risk

• 5% of annual revenue is threatened by fragmented cybersecurity solutions, report warns
• Leaders are under pressure to cut costs without compromising security postures
• Half of execs say that fragmented solutions are stopping them from innovating

Businesses are losing an average of 5% of their annual revenue simply due to fragmented cybersecurity solutions, new research has claimed.

A report by IBM and Palo Alto Networks found more than half (52%) of execs now state fragmented solutions are preventing them from innovating and managing cyber threats efficiently, highlighting a major challenge which stands in the way of increased security and financial efficiency.

Three-quarters now agree better security integration is crucial to ongoing digital transformation and governance, so the need to remove hurdles is vital.

Businesses are struggling with cybersecurity

Four in five execs are now facing pressure to reduce security costs while simultaneously improving their security postures, but two in five (41%) say that fragmentation has driven up their procurement costs. Half (52%) also note that complexity is the biggest obstruction to their cybersecurity operations.

“Security executives need to enable innovation, protect assets and derive value from their cybersecurity investments to help their organisations thrive and further their business goals," noted IBM Global Managing Partner for Cybersecurity Services Mark Hughes.

The report reveals how platformization can tackle many of the hurdles faced by businesses today – “consolidating multiple tools into a unified platform not only bolsters security posture but enables organizations to experience up to four times better return on investment from their cybersecurity investments,” the companies said in the release.

Four in five platformization adopters say they have full visibility into potential vulnerabilities and threats, while the same number of non-platform organizations say their security operations cannot deal effectively with the number of threats and attacks they face.

“We have seen the positive impacts of adopting a platformized approach to security, and the benefits of what it delivers to organisations. In today’s AI-fueled world, strong partnerships are more essential than ever," added Palo Alto Networks President for Next Generation Security, Karim Temsamani.

The two companies say that businesses must choose partners that streamline security operations, conduct incident response drills to assess the effectiveness of their platforms, and continue to educate themselves around cybersecurity to stay ahead of the curve.

You might also like

• Rise of AI is causing many firms to worry about their cybersecurity
• Consider the best endpoint security software and best antivirus software
• We’ve listed the best online learning platforms to support your upskilling efforts