Protection is still the main driver for security, but a new CA Technologies study reveals that Singapore organisations are approaching security from new perspectives, recognising its potential to deliver frictionless and positive customer experience and contribute to business growth in the increasingly competitive application economy.
The study, sponsored by CA Technologies, shows how mobility, APIs and an eye toward growing the business have brought a balanced view of control and enablement to security. Singapore respondents were nearly equally split when asked if security was mostly about control or enabling the business. Half (49%) of respondents said security was mostly about control, while the remainder indicated that it was about both control and enablement.
"It is paramount for Singapore organisations to stay ahead of the fast-changing IT threat landscape, especially in a geographic location that serves as a strategic regional and global hub for commerce. Today, businesses are faced with new pressures to strategically invest in IT in order to survive and thrive,” said Chua I-Pin, VP, Asia South, CA Technologies. “The successful organisation in the application economy does not look at technologies such as security as a growth inhibitor, but a necessary part of a broader strategy to innovate and grow."
Key Singapore findings from the study show:
Protection as top priority
Protecting identities (48%) and protecting against data breaches (46%) were the top security priorities among Singapore respondents. This was followed closely by improving/supporting compliance and audit (45%) and improving the mobile customer experience (39%).
The desire for innovation through open APIs
Success in the application economy requires businesses to innovate and release applications more quickly, and API-assembled apps will lead the way. To facilitate that need, 86% of Singapore respondents have opened up their data as APIs to accelerate mobile and web application delivery, improve customer engagements and open new revenue channels and opportunities. This is 12% higher than the APJ average of 74% and adds new considerations to the protection factor of security.
The impact of mobility
Improving the mobile customer experience was cited by 39% of Singapore respondents as one of the top security priorities. In addition, 52% of respondents say mobility has a big or significant impact on security practices and policies with respect to customers, comparable to the APJ figure of 55%. This trend is expected to increase as mobility, BYOD and the Internet of Things continue to drive an increasingly “unwired enterprise” where perpetual connectivity adds a complexity and security risk that must be addressed for employees, customers and partners.
New attitudes adopted
Just over half (51%) of Singapore respondents recognise that business enablement is an important benefit of security and can drive growth. Eighty-four percent of respondents in APJ and 75% in Singapore have seen or expect to see improved customer satisfaction and trust; 68% in APJ and 59% in Singapore have seen or expect to see increased revenue from new services enabled by improved security.
Increase in security investment
This new view toward security and the protection and business enablement it offers has sparked an increase in security investment. According to Singapore respondents, 23% of all IT spending will be devoted to security in the next three years, up from 15% today.
Read our blog post about the regional findings of this study here.
View the infographic of the survey results here.
For tips on how to advance security for today’s business environment, read 8 Steps to Modernize Security for the Application Economy.
*Images from an infographic on the Singapore results of the survey.
*Six hundred and fifty senior IT and business leaders from financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail telecommunications and media / entertainment in six markets in Asia Pacific and Japan, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore, participated in the CA Technologies-sponsored study conducted by Vanson Bourne.
