In 2013 we are more and more dependent on technology in our every day business lives than we have ever been before, whether it’s using social media accounts for profile raising or introducing software such as document management systems to organise information and precedents. This opens up a whole new frontier when it comes to protecting confidentiality, hardware, software and company information and this has resulted in many choosing to invest in IT security. For those who have taken such a step, there are now signs of a return on that investment as research demonstrates that a sound IT security strategy can provide essential protection against losses, both in terms of time and money.
Figures produced by specialist GRC and IT security company Turnkey Consulting show that 30% of businesses have experienced some kind of fraud over the past 12 months. Interestingly, Turnkey also turned up results showing that 34% of businesses have experienced fraud but not even known about it at the time, which makes having some kind of defensive mechanism in place for those situations where you just can’t detect fraud even more essential. Turnkey’s figures also highlighted that 16% of companies had experienced data loss that directly affected their business operations, which could be anything from loss of a competitive advantage to cash flow issues. Given these figures and the risks to business that they raise, it’s not surprising that almost three quarters of those organisations surveyed by Turnkey felt that IT security was now one of the top three considerations when implementing an IT project.
In fact, in general now IT security is considered an integral part of any organisation’s business operations and most companies see it as the responsibility of everyone, from new employees through to top level management. It is also viewed as a crucial tool in achieving business success – according to Richard Hunt, managing director of Turnkey, “Organisations are recognising that, rather than being an essential but unwanted overhead, investing in IT security can have a positive impact on business operations and ROI.”
If you’d like to join the increasing numbers of businesses reaping the rewards of investing in IT security then ITC has much to offer. We provide solutions, such as firewall and intrusion prevention, vulnerability management and web and email security so that your business can do what it does best without interruption
