SURVEY REPORT SPON. Small and Medium Business: IT/Security Priorities and Preferences. Published September An Osterman Research Survey Report

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SURVEY REPORT SPON. Small and Medium Business: IT/Security Priorities and Preferences. Published September 2015. An Osterman Research Survey Report"

Oswald Kelly Jennings
8 years ago
Views:

1 SURVEY REPORT N sponsored by An Osterman Research Survey Report Published September 2015 SPON sponsored by Osterman Research, Inc. P.O. Box 1058 Black Diamond, Washington USA Tel: Fax: info@ostermanresearch.com twitter.com/mosterman

2 INTRODUCTION This report discusses the results of a survey that Osterman Research conducted for Fortinet during August The survey reached just under 300 small and medium business leaders (Owners, 73%, and Presidents, 27%). Further, 75% of their organizations have fewer than 99 employees while the remaining 25% have employees. The goals of the research were several: To determine business leaders priorities over the next months. To understand how they view and approach IT/Security The desired role of IT and security resellers, partners, consultants and other third parties in helping to manage the IT and security infrastructure in smaller organizations. Perceptions about the concept of Connected Unified Threat Management (UTM). For purposes of analysis and comparison, we segmented the survey audience into two groups: those who lead organizations with fewer than 100 employees and those with employees. These are noted as smaller and larger organizations throughout this report. ORGANIZATIONS SURVEYED The survey included organizations across a wide range of industries, as shown in Figure 1. While the fairly broadly defined technology sector was the largest single category of organization surveyed, other industries were also well represented in the survey sample, including financial services/insurance, healthcare, retail, real estate and education. Figure 1: Industries Surveyed 2015 Osterman Research, Inc. 1

Further, 75% of their organizations have fewer than 99 employees while the remaining 25% have 100-250 employees.

3 PRIORITIES FOR BUSINESS LEADERS FOCUS IS ON KEY BUSINESS ISSUES Survey respondents were asked to rate their priorities for the next months on a five-point scale: 1 critical priority, 2 high priority, 3 priority, 4 low priority, and 5 not a priority. Given that our survey focus was on business owners, company presidents and CEOs, it is not surprising that the top (critical) priorities for the survey audience, as shown in Figure 2, were primarily focused on key business issues: growing top line revenue, improving profitability and reducing costs. Figure 2: Top Priorities for the Next Months % of Those Responding a Critical Priority IMPROVING SECURITY AND UPGRADING IT ARE IMPORTANT It is noteworthy, however, that improving security and upgrading IT also figured prominently as key priorities for this business-focused survey audience. For example, improving security and upgrading IT were both considered critical priorities by 21% of the survey audience, although upgrading IT saw significantly more respondents classifying it as a high priority (28% vs. 20%) compared to improving security. Only 14% of business leaders viewed upgrading IT as a non-priority for the next months; only 17% viewed improving security as a non-priority during this period Osterman Research, Inc. 2

Given that our survey focus was on business owners, company presidents and CEOs, it is not surprising that the top (critical) priorities for the survey audience, as shown in Figure 2, were primarily

4 THE ROLE OF IT AND SECURITY MOST CONSIDER IT AND SECURITY TO BE CRITICAL When asked specifically how they viewed IT/Security, two-thirds of the business leaders surveyed consider IT and security to be critical to the success of their company and something they think about all the time, as shown in Figure 3. Business leaders in larger SMB organizations consider IT and security to be slightly more critical issues 70% vs. 65%- but it is clearly top of mind for all SMBs. Figure 3: Business Leaders Perspectives on IT/Security MOST STILL USE A TRADITIONAL IT MANAGEMENT MODEL In light of its importance, it makes sense that the majority of the organizations surveyed use a traditional IT management model that relies upon on-premises infrastructure managed by company employees, as shown in Figure 4, but this did surprise us. The use of cloud-based services does figure prominently into the IT management for a significant proportion of the organizations surveyed, but it too is largely managed by employees. Respondents answered nearly the exact same in regard to IT Security. Figure 4: Models for Managing IT USE OF MULTIPLE VENDORS IS MOST COMMON 2015 Osterman Research, Inc. 3

Business leaders in larger SMB organizations consider IT and security to be slightly more critical issues 70% vs. 65%- but it is clearly top of mind for all SMBs.

5 Our research found that the use of multiple vendors is still the most common (65%) approach to managing IT security, whether using on-premises solutions or those in the cloud, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5: Current IT Security Infrastructure COMPANIES WANT A SINGLE SOURCE FOR SECURITY However, as shown in Figure 6, the majority of survey respondents would prefer to have their Web security, security and firewalls from a single partner. And just under half would also prefer endpoint security, switching and wireless also from the same partner. Figure 6: Types of Capabilities That Organizations Would like to Have Provided by a Single Partner 2015 Osterman Research, Inc. 4

Figure 5: Current IT Security Infrastructure COMPANIES WANT A SINGLE SOURCE FOR SECURITY However, as shown in Figure 6, the majority of survey respondents would prefer to

6 USING THIRD PARTIES MOST VIEW THIRD PARTIES AS AN EXTENSION OF THEIR IN- HOUSE STAFF Although most organizations were managing IT and Security in-house, more than one-half of the organizations surveyed view IT- and security-focused resellers, partners and consultants as an extension of their in-house IT staff, while more than two in five view these third parties as the primary entity that resolves security-related problems, as shown in Figure 7. Figure 7: Types of IT Security Services Expected From Resellers, Partners and Consultants SERVICES EXPECTED FROM THIRD PARTIES More importantly, as shown in Figure 8, the vast majority of organizations surveyed would like trusted IT- and security-related resellers, partners and consultants to manage all of their security. And nearly one-half view these third parties as the primary source of managing their entire IT infrastructure. And this was largely the same (72% vs. 70%) for smaller and larger SMB organizations. Figure 8: Types of Services Expected From Trusted IT/Security Resellers, Partners and Consultants 2015 Osterman Research, Inc. 5

resolves security-related problems, as shown in Figure 7.

7 THE ROLE OF CONNECTED UTM USE OF UTM CAPABILITIES More than four out of five survey respondents reported that their organizations are using a single, on-premises network appliance that provides gateway anti-virus, gateway anti-spam, firewall, intrusion prevention, content filtering, VPN, bandwidth management, application control and centralized reporting, as shown in Figure 9. Larger organizations are much more likely to be using such an appliance (91% vs. 79%). But clearly all SMB organizations want even more simplification as noted earlier. Figure 9 Does your organization have a single, on-premises network appliance that does the following: gateway anti-virus, gateway anti-spam, firewall, intrusion prevention, content filtering, VPN, bandwidth management, application control and centralized reporting? When asked in an open-ended question about why their organization implemented a UTM solution, the most common response, provided by 22% of business leaders, was an unspecified definition of security, safety or protection. The next most common response was protect customer and/or internal data at 8%, followed by dealing proactively with future threats at 7%. This last response was more common among larger organizations (11% vs. 5%). CONCLUSION This survey uncovered some surprising findings. First, small and medium business owners view IT and Security as critical issues, and think about them all the time. Second, most utilize multiple on-premise products and cloud services managed by employees. However, third, the majority would prefer trusted partners to deliver and manage a single solution covering all of their security needs, with nearly half also wanting that solution to include their IT as well. We had anticipated less awareness and attention from ownership and more reliance already on trusted partners and managed services. Clearly there is a much greater role for vendors to deliver complete IT and Security Solutions Managed by Expert Service providers in tackling the critical challenge of security for SMBs of all sizes Osterman Research, Inc. 6

Larger organizations are much more likely to be using such an appliance (91% vs. 79%). But clearly all SMB organizations want even more simplification as noted earlier.

8 2015 Osterman Research, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form by any means, nor may it be distributed without the permission of Osterman Research, Inc., nor may it be resold or distributed by any entity other than Osterman Research, Inc., without prior written authorization of Osterman Research, Inc. Osterman Research, Inc. does not provide legal advice. Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice, nor shall this document or any software product or other offering referenced herein serve as a substitute for the reader s compliance with any laws (including but not limited to any act, statue, regulation, rule, directive, administrative order, executive order, etc. (collectively, Laws )) referenced in this document. If necessary, the reader should consult with competent legal counsel regarding any Laws referenced herein. Osterman Research, Inc. makes no representation or warranty regarding the completeness or accuracy of the information contained in this document. THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS, CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE DETERMINED TO BE ILLEGAL Osterman Research, Inc. 7

Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice, nor shall this document or any software product or other offering referenced herein serve as a substitute for the reader s compliance with any laws

SURVEY REPORT PON SPON. Results of a Survey Conducted for Electric Cloud. Published January 2011. An Osterman Research Survey Report.

SURVEY REPORT PON SPON. Results of a Survey Conducted for Electric Cloud. Published January 2011. An Osterman Research Survey Report. SURVEY REPORT PON sponsored by Results of a Survey Conducted for Electric Cloud An Osterman Research Survey Report Published January 2011 SPON sponsored by Osterman Research, Inc. P.O. Box 1058 Black Diamond,