IT Security Spending Trends For 2024
Cybercrime drives the growth of cybersecurity. For example, 2023 saw a significant increase in cyber attacks in healthcare, and it’s predicted that healthcare will continue to be the most targeted industry. And with more work being done online than ever before—due to both an organic shift to online business and the economic and workplace impacts of COVID-19—20234 anticipates record spending for IT security. As a result, information security is expected to be the most prioritized line item for IT spending in 2024, beating out data analytics and cloud services.
Threats to IT security can take many forms, including ransomware, spyware, and viruses. Different types of IT security provide different solutions for various needs. However, with so many avenues for hackers to access valuable data and information, IT security must be prioritized to keep everyone’s data safe.
With companies pouring more money into IT security than ever, we must ask which security services businesses invest in. Below we outline the IT security spending trends for 2024, showing you what services receive the most attention—and funding—to ensure top-notch security.
1. Increase spending due to remote workers
The Coronavirus pandemic has caused a significant shift from on-premises to remote workstations across the country. And because workers are going remote, businesses have encountered a variety of security issues. According to one study, as many as one in five respondents noted that their company faced security problems due to their employees working from home.
When transitioning to a remote workforce, many companies don’t realize opening themselves up to potential security breaches. One way to address this new normal of remote offices could be to train employees who work from home. Other more universal options fall along the lines of funding antivirus software designed explicitly for work-from-home users.
The bottom line is this: more businesses than ever are operating with remote workstations. As a result, we’re seeing a need for solutions that effectively protect these companies and organizations from cyber threats targeting remote stations.
2. Hyper automation
IT automation takes care of the repetitive tasks usually done by IT professionals in data centers and cloud deployments. IT companies are taking automation a step further with hyper-automation, where businesses automate as many IT processes as possible.
Automation within a business is a smart move. IT automation not only saves resources that would usually be poured into an IT professional, but automation systems can often get the job done even more efficiently than their human counterparts. AI, machine learning, and robotics: there’s almost no limit to what hyper-automation can look like and the means companies use to achieve it.
In addition to efficiency, IT automation can potentially play an important role in data security. AI utilized in IT automation can analyze how, when, and why a data breach occurred. These systems can analyze the patterns and events leading up to a breach, then determine the most probable reason for the failed security.
Hyper IT automation hasn’t become widespread, but it’s only a matter of time before we see it everywhere. This trend in IT security not only reduces costs but will be one of the most effective ways to pinpoint and combat advanced cyberattacks.
3. Greater focus on cloud security
With a huge and nearly universal shift to cloud-based storage, companies must find ways to protect their information with adequate cloud security. Cloud security accomplishes the same goals as on-site IT security systems. With quality cloud security, you’ll know your data is safe; you can see the current state of your security; the system will notify you if anything unusual occurs, and you can check out unexpected happenings within your cloud.
Whether a business operates on a public, private, or hybrid cloud, it should always take proactive steps to monitor its security. Of course, the most secure cloud deployment would be private. But even private clouds can be breached.
Because most companies and healthcare facilities have moved to cloud-based storage, hackers are focusing their energy on these data sources. So in the coming years, we’ll see more funding in cloud security and ways businesses and individuals using the cloud can keep their information safe.
4. Upped security for business mobile usage
Businesses across all industries and sectors utilize their employees’ mobile devices. We commonly see mobile device usage with point-of-sale (POS) systems. While these POS systems are designed so that their customers don’t experience security breaches, the fact is that mobile business security is a hot-button issue in the IT world. In increasing numbers, businesses have employees use their own devices—typically a smartphone—to engage with customers via social media or even email or to conduct transactions with a system like Square.
While this trend streamlines customer service and can even make things easier for employees, maintaining mobile security will become an increasingly difficult challenge for businesses. Every device used to access a company’s systems opens up another pathway for hackers to infiltrate a business’s data. As mobile usage becomes more integrated into a business’s day-to-day operations, we can expect to see a rise in spending on vulnerability management. If mobile devices are secure, companies have a better chance of protecting themselves from a cyberattack or infiltration.
Conclusion
In a world that’s becoming increasingly digital, no one can afford to take IT security lightly. Companies are working tirelessly from mobile to the cloud and every hardware and software in between to stay ahead of IT security threats to protect their information. With more resources being funneled into IT security than ever, we can have hope for a safe and secure 2024.
Contact Altus for information on our IT-friendly healthcare workstations.