With the continued downturn in the IT sector - and in the overall economy - IT managers are expected to remain cautious when it comes to IT spending, although spending on security may remain a lot more buoyant.
So said Maeson Maherry, general manager of NamITrust, the ESSP (Enterprise Security Service Provider) division within NamITech Ltd, the IT arm of the JSE Securities Exchange listed Nampak group.
"Because of the growing need for security in the digital economy spending cutbacks will not be as severe here. In fact, spending on security may increase, but companies are going to be far stricter when it comes to cost justifying their outlay on securing their networks and information. IT spending on security, however, should rather be measured in terms of the reduced risk it brings rather than how much it costs," said Maherry.
"In other words, companies should weigh up the dangers of not investing in suitable security, such as firewalls, intrusion detection services and disaster recovery."
He said companies should seek outside advice on how to build security into the corporate network, from the intranet to wireless applications, as well as the road forward with future IT initiatives undertaken by the company.
As the Internet becomes a bigger part of business life, companies become exposed to security threats on a daily basis, including viruses Trojan Horses, worms and denial of service (DOS) attacks. In addition, industrial espionage and data theft is on the increase according to the latest research and loopholes and vulnerabilities in corporate networks has cost companies millions of dollars in downtime and the goodwill of existing and potential customers.
"It is a fact that more businesses will seek outsourced professional help to diagnose their overall security position and to come up with a security programme to improve safety levels and regulate current deficiencies."
Maherry said outsource companies, or enterprise security solutions providers (ESSPs), are increasingly called upon to offer consulting services and training, as well as to implement firewalls, complex heterogeneous network security solutions, intrusion detection systems and network security user policies and procedures.
"But with the pressure on budgets, companies are definitely looking at return on investment (ROI). Organisations are evaluating their ROIs with regard to their security resources while striving to reduce the total cost-to-use of their systems. They are not just simply installing the latest in security technologies and products. This is something that ESSPs need to be aware of. Yes, it is a growing market, but end-users are wising up and, at the same time, are looking closely and how they spend money. "There is money to be made in this market. But only those companies that can really provide value will survive into the future. It is not going to be a gravy train."
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