For most technologies, Trusted Advisors can recommend, set-up, integrate and optimize. Then they can test solution to make sure that it works. If everything works, the job is done. If not, then there’s more that needs to be done. In any case, barring any additional changes, what successfully functions today will successfully function tomorrow. Yes, malfunctions will eventually occur, but on any given day you pretty much know which way to bet.
Except in security!
What effectively secures your company today may or may not work equally well tomorrow. That’s because IT security is essentially a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole, in which the bad guys find an exposure, the good guys rush to close the exposure, and the bad guys work to find another one. The net result is a lot of sleepless night for security leaders as they wonder what fresh hell might await them in the morning.
In our 2021 State of Disruption Report, (coming out in January), slightly more than 60% of our survey respondents expressed concern that a data breach could bring about termination of their employment. This is not particularly surprising, given that people who fail at jobs for which they were specifically hired frequently experience a lack of job security.
Only 13% manage their security with no third-party participation whatsoever. The rest leverage some combination of homegrown expertise augmented by specialized external people from the Trusted Advisor community, as well as the allies of those advisors who, more often than not, fall into the bucket of managed security service providers.
These data points reflect the importance of ongoing dialogue with Trusted Advisors and any additional security consultants who may be brought into the mix. Maintaining regular access to these contacts can go a long way towards maximizing the odds of effective security.
Stay tuned for more details from the AVANT State of Disruption Report for 2021.
For more data and information on IT security, please download out AVANT 6-12 Report at www.ta.goavant.net/security-report. Also, contact your Trusted Advisor.