A new global survey conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) and Palo Alto Networks revealed that organizations face complexity challenges in security while managing, on average, 83 different solutions from 29 suppliers. The research also shows that 7 in 10 companies with a high degree of platformization report that their investments in cybersecurity have contributed to driving business results, as operational efficiency and revenue generation
In the study"Capturando o dividendo da cibersegurança: Como as plataformas de segurança geram valor para os negócios", 52% of the executives interviewed indicate that the fragmentation of solutions limits their ability to deal with cyber threats, but 75% of organizations that adopted platformization agree that better integration between security, hybrid cloud, AI and other technological platforms are essential. The analysis suggests that the trend of adding more solutions to combat evolving cyber threats is contributing to inefficiency – impacting both performance and financial results – while adopting a platform-based security approach can help companies reduce response times and costs, without sacrificing the effectiveness of security
The complexity in cybersecurity is a challenging realityThe increase in digital interconnection expands attack surfaces and can create new vulnerabilities. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and harder to defend against, while AI is being used by both defenders and attackers, creating a race in cybersecurity skills
With the evolution of threats, the interviewed executives estimate that the fragmentation and complexity of security cost their organizations an average of 5% of annual revenue. For a company where the number reaches US$20 billion, this represents a cost of US$1 billion in total. If added, the costs of security incidents, loss of productivity, failures in digital transformations, interrupted AI initiatives, loss of customer trust and damage to reputation, increase significantly
Organizations continue to be challenged to update their security posture to face new threats, while they are pressured to reduce complexity and cut costs, stated Mark Hughes, Global Managing Partner for Cybersecurity Services at IBM. Security executives need to enable innovation, protect assets and generate value from your investments in cybersecurity to help your organizations thrive and achieve their business goals
We saw the positive impacts of adopting a security platformization approach and the benefits it brings to organizations. In today's world, driven by AI, strong partnerships are more essential than ever, Karim Temsamani stated, President, Next Generation Security, from Palo Alto Networks. IBM and Palo Alto Networks share a common vision of creating better outcomes for customers – be it in value, operation or security, and platformization achieves all these goals. This is not just about improving fragmentation today, but to enable better results for the future
Key insights from the interviewed business leaders
- 52% of executives say that complexity is the biggest obstacle to their cybersecurity operations
- 80% agree that they face pressure to reduce security costs, 41% say that security fragmentation has increased acquisition costs
- 4 out of 5 organizations that have not adopted platforms say their security operations are unable to effectively handle the large number of threats and attacks
- 80% of organizations that adopted platformization claim to have full visibility over vulnerabilities and potential threats
- For organizations with security platformization, the mean time to identify (MTTI) and the mean time to contain (MTTC) security incidents are, respectively, 72 and 84 shorter days
Enhancing business with platformization: unleashing the power of digital transformationThe research concludes that effective security requires platformization. Consolidating multiple tools into a unified platform strengthens the security posture and allows organizations to experience a return on investment (ROI) nearly 4 times better from their cybersecurity investments, resulting in revenue generation and increased operational efficiency
Regarding AI, a platform-based approach can also enable organizations to ingest and analyze data more effectively to provide actionable insights. With 90% of interviewed executives expecting to scale, optimize or innovate with AI in the next two years, integrating it into your platforms can play a key role in advancing security preparedness. For example, accelerating the adoption of AI for protection and using platformization to reduce investment cycles, using platformization to create the common governance needed to deliver the AI capabilities that are shaping the future
Adopting platformization, companies can align technologies, drive innovation and position security as a central requirement for business. Through the strategic partnership between IBM and Palo Alto Networks, companies are bringing together the main security platforms, AI and transformation capabilities to help organizations navigate confidently in their digital transformation journey, achieve the desired results and generate substantial value for the business
Tips for the success of platformization
- Choose partners that streamline your security mission and eliminate those that do not add value. Critically evaluate current and potential technology partners, services and support, and then decide where to invest more and when to end relationships
- Carry out incident response exercises to assess where a unified platform can bring the greatest impact. Take measures to improve your incident response capabilities
- Prepare your company to respond to threats by putting it to the test. Visit a cyber range to train business and technical teams to deal with the latest cyber threats through an immersive and business-focused engagement. IBM and Palo Alto Networks offer a joint Cyber Range experience in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where customers can use the facility to support continuous improvement, training and change management while transforming their security operational models with platformization
