Techaisle’s US SMB & Midmarket IT Security Adoption survey finds a mismatch between business confidence in mobility security and actual exposure to threats and mitigation actions and investments. Figure below illustrates respondent perceptions of current mobile security preparedness. In the US, roughly 20% of both small and midsized businesses report that they are “fully prepared and confident” with respect to mobile security, and more than twice as many state that they are “as prepared as can be,” while acknowledging that “requirements will change” in the future. Altogether, nearly two-thirds of small businesses and three-quarters of midmarket firms categorize themselves as being in one of these categories, with only 5% of small businesses and 2% of midmarket respondents reporting that they are “not very well prepared.”
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Techaisle research shows that the US SMB spend on security (including managed security services) is likely to be US$8.4 B in 2017. Within the entire SMB (1-999 employees) segment it is easy to point to a lack of budget as a reason why US small businesses (1-99 employees) are not proactive when it comes to addressing security (or other IT) issues, but that may not be the whole problem, or perhaps even the greatest obstacle to small business adoption of security technology. Techaisle data illustrates, relative to midmarket (100-999 employees) firms, small businesses have limited internal IT security staff, are not generally working with a managed service provider capable of managing security needs, are about one-third less likely than larger peers to work with outsourcers delivering Security-as-a-Service, and are about 50% less likely to embrace external vendors’ software-based security solutions. While microbusinesses could theoretically pursue the same strategies that are used by larger competitors, they lack experience and skills needed to identify, deploy and manage the products and relationships used to develop shields protecting valuable corporate data, application and human assets.
Techaisle’s US Enterprise Cloud survey conducted with senior IT decision makers shows that Cloud actually opens the doors to increased IT investment. For all the trepidation about the negative impact of cloud on IT budget and authority, data from the Techaisle US upper-midmarket/enterprise (1,000 employees to 10,000 employees) cloud survey indicates that advanced use of cloud actually drives higher IT spending. In 92% of US enterprises, IT has a voice on the board and helps drive the direction of the business rather than business deciding IT needs. There is also a great deal of near-term opportunity for a variety of SaaS providers in the US enterprise market: ten diverse application categories are included in near-term plans of 37%-41% of respondents.
Cloud adoption maturity & IT staffing impact
Survey data shows that cloud maturity does not correlate to reductions in IT staffing levels. The most and least mature cloud user segments have an average of 19.0 and 20.3 users per IT staff member, respectively. The two groups between the extremes have an average of 16.6 and 16.2 users per IT staff member. The roles may be different, but the survey data finds that absolute employment in IT shops does not decline with cloud use.
Techaisle’s survey of over 1,100 US SMBs, covered in US SMB & Midmarket Cloud Security solutions adoption trends report, shows that 41% of SMBs recognize that cloud poses a risk to their data. It resonates most with small businesses (1-99 employees) and is one of the top three issues identified by midmarket (100-999) respondents. However, to a large degree, these firms also believe that they are prepared to address cloud security issues. 46% of midmarket firms report that they are in better shape than their peers.
Survey data also shows that 72% of 1-9 employee microbusinesses, and 62% of small businesses overall, have not layered any security products on top of their cloud environments. They are entirely dependent on the security features embedded in their cloud environments. Even within the more sophisticated midmarket (100-999 employees) segment, the survey finds that only 20% of firms are currently using discrete products/services to secure their cloud environments, a finding that is ameliorated somewhat by the 70% of midmarket firms that are currently implementing these solutions.
