Security adds value which is vital for business, argue Perpetuity Research in their new report.
The researchers explored the broader benefits of security, beyond the protection of assets and found a number of ways in which security has generated income:
– By having excellent security which was highly valued by clients and customers in their choice of who to work with;
– By providing better security than competitors (although more often there is a shared approach across security functions to preventing mutual threats);
– By reducing insurance costs and other expenditures that come with being victimised;
– By creating safe and secure environments to enable the organisation to operate at all;
– In enabling the organisation to trade or exist in areas and types of activity that would not otherwise be possible;
– In providing or helping to provide the sort of environment that will attract customers and staff and keep them and reduce the cost of churn;
– In enabling staff to work flexibly;
– By contributing to a trusting culture and a supportive environment to work; and
– In reducing the risks of breaches that can attract fines, unwelcome publicity and loss of reputation.
The findings of the research are based on a survey and interviews with security people but also those from other corporate departments (such as HR, marketing and finance) to gain an understanding of how the benefits of security are viewed by others. Indeed, it was not just security professionals that considered security to be important and likely to impact on key issues that affect organisational success (such as reputation, customer satisfaction, staff well-being and profitability). Professionals from other corporate departments also rated security highly and felt it makes a contribution to other (non-security) departments in achieving other organisational objectives.
The report confirms that security can add value by preventing loss, particularly reputational and financial, but also identifies a range of ways in which it is possible to enhance success (such as attracting business, expanding business and retaining business) and also support operational success (such as enabling trust, contributing to staff well-being and corporate social responsibility).
The research however identifies a number of barriers to recognising the full benefits of security:
•It is viewed as an ‘intangible’ which complicates attempts to calculate a persuasive return on investment: success in security is often defined as ‘nothing going wrong’
•It is poorly understood by senior management and other corporate departments, often appreciation of the broader benefits of security exists in pockets
•Security staff have not been good at promoting security and the impacts it has; security typically adopts a rather self defeating stance
Professor Martin Gill who led the study said: “There are many proponents of the value of security that have long been arguing that security can and does so much more for a business than purely protect its assets. This research suggests that these additional benefits are numerous and significant. What is worrying is that it seems to be a very well kept secret.’”
The research
The research is based on in-depth telephone and face-to-face interviews conducted with 55 individuals (30 clients, 15 suppliers, one security academic and nine individuals from non-security roles including HR, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Quality and Facilities). This was complimented by an online survey answered by 315 security professionals and 130 professional from other (non-security) corporate departments. Respondents were from a range of sectors.
The research was undertaken by Perpetuity Research (which started life as a spin-out from the University of Leicester) under the umbrella of the Security Research Initiative (http://www.perpetuityresearch.com/sri.html), which conducts a study each year into an aspect of security.
To download a free copy of the full report go to http://perpetuityresearch.com/category/publications/security-research-initiative/.
