Security concerns keep half of IT business leaders awake at night, reveals AppDirect’s IT Business Leaders 2024 Outlook Report

SAN FRANCISCO – Nov. 28, 2023 – AppDirect, the world's leading B2B subscription commerce platform, today released key findings from its IT Business Leaders 2024 Outlook Report. The study, conducted by independent research firm Propeller Insights, dives into how IT business leaders feel about their security posture in a world where the technologies they embrace to grow and thrive are also vulnerable to constant and increasing threats.

AppDirect’s survey results come at a time when increased security is a growing need for organizations everywhere. According to the Gartner Digital Markets 2023 Global Software Buying Trends report, “42% of buyers say security is the most important factor when planning investment in new software.”

In the AppDirect study, 45% of IT business leaders said they experienced a security breach in the last year. As they face an increasingly complex spectrum of security threats, security anxiety is prevalent and has become a top concern.

Key findings include:

IT business leaders are prepared—yet feel uneasy about company security

The results show that while 92% of IT business leaders believe they’ve made the right security investments and 88% say they meet all compliance requirements, half are kept up at night over their company’s security.

IT business leaders are checking off the right boxes when it comes to completing the tasks associated with their jobs and performing due diligence on security. But that’s not enough to assuage their anxiety and instill confidence that they're well protected against security threats. Their top areas of concern include cybersecurity risk (58%), information security risk (53%) and compliance risk (39%).

Human error is among the top causes of security breaches

The study also found that 49% of IT business leaders count human error, including those by employees, among their top security concerns. In fact, all of their other concerns—malware, stolen data, phishing, ransomware and misconfiguration of cloud services—include an element of human error and/or malice.

This demonstrates a lack of rigorous employee education and training on cybersecurity measures, making employees part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

“IT business leaders must secure their most vulnerable access point: their employees. Although there are some malicious internal attacks, the vast majority of internally-enabled breaches happen when employees click on a seemingly harmless link in an email, opening the floodgates to corporate data and systems,” said Pierre-Luc Bisaillon, CIO at AppDirect. “Best-in-class training, with testing and regular retraining and testing, will go a long way to mitigate the risks of social engineering security breaches.”

Cybersecurity solutions are forecast to be a top purchase in the immediate future

IT business leaders are prioritizing security measures in 2024, with 74.4% likely to purchase cybersecurity software solutions in the next 12 months. But they’re likely to better vet their solution provider since 45% report they’ve experienced security or data privacy concerns related to their third-party tech vendor solutions.

The results show that while cybersecurity remains paramount, ensuring IT business leaders find the right solution provider is of equal importance. A majority—59%—consider data security and privacy measures as top priorities when selecting SaaS providers.

“Cyber crime is a people problem—and better people processes and education are the solution,” said Bisaillon. “This means ensuring assets are up to date with the latest patches, enforcing multi-factor authentication and locking down endpoint security to rapidly detect and remediate advanced attacks and ensure business continuity. Getting help from experts who can analyze security gaps can help IT business leaders build a strong security strategy.”

To read the full report, please visit the Business Leaders 2024 Outlook Report download page.

About AppDirect

AppDirect is a San Francisco-based B2B subscription commerce platform company that brings together technology providers, advisors and businesses to simplify how they buy, sell and manage technology. More than 1,000 providers, 10,000 advisors and 5 million subscribers rely on the AppDirect ecosystem of subscription marketplaces to power their innovation, growth and success.

AppDirect offers a wide range of security solutions through its marketplace catalog, along with security workshops, training, resources, access to solution experts, and a cybersecurity certification program for technology advisors.