According to a global study by CA Technologies, 89 percent of UK organisations experience increased customer retention owing to their security practices- the highest figure anywhere in Europe.
A total of 93 percent of UK organisations, the highest figure in Europe, view security as critical to protecting their brand and as a competitive differentiator.
The majority of respondents found that adopting an identity-centric approach to security both protects and enables business in today’s multichannel, multiplatform world, where identity is the perimeter. UK organisations saw a 39 percent increase in customer satisfaction and a 38 percent increase in revenue from new business.
A previous report found that, majority of UK CIOs expect to face more security threats in the next five years due to minimal IT security talent.
Paul Briault, Sr Director for CA Technologies said: “Security has always been about protecting the business, compliance, and efficient business operations; this study is proof that security also contributes to business growth.”
According to the study, one third of UK organisations report an increase in IT security breaches over the last 12 months, while 20 percent have seen a decrease.
It was found that proactive and predictive processes can greatly enhance an organisation’s ability to detect and prevent data breaches. However, only a minimal 24 percent of UK organisations use analytics to proactively detect and prevent data breaches, and just 21 percent the risk of breaches before they occur.
Briault said: “In the application economy, customers want a failsafe security and a frictionless experience. Identity-centric security applies consistent security measures across channels, allowing organisations to improve how they protect and support business operations while driving customer confidence and business growth.”
Identity-centric security helps ensure an organisation’s security practices do not infringe on the overall user experience. It requires organisations to implement more adaptive identity and access management (IAM) controls, and to take a more proactive and predictive approach to preventing data breaches.
The study closes with a list of seven critical actions UK organisations need to take to adopt an identity-centric approach to security, and ensure the strategy improves performance and drives growth.
Organisations are to:
- Make identity the perimeter of the organisation
- Treat security as a business enabler
- Focus on creating trusted digital relationships
- Protect experiences, not just data
- Take an adaptive approach to IAM
- Be proactive and predictive
- Never compromise security for speed
