Rethinking Cybersecurity: A New Driver for Growth

All countries, cities, and businesses large and small are racing against the challenges not only to remain secure and relevant today, but also to attain and sustain long-term excellence. Each needs to stay ahead of the bad actors that seek to compromise their privacy and security. As well, they must outpace industry disruptors who are leveraging digital innovation to displace industry frontrunners. Fortunately, cybersecurity is a solution for winning on both counts.

In the new digital era, cybersecurity provides the critical foundation organizations require to protect themselves, enable trust, move faster, add greater value, and grow.

A new Cisco study, Cybersecurity as a Growth Advantage, shows that businesses are starting to get that message. Our survey of 1014 finance and line-of-business executives revealed that almost one-third view cybersecurity primarily as a growth enabler. Additionally, 44 percent see cybersecurity as a competitive advantage. This is significant because today’s business environment demands a broader view of cybersecurity beyond its essential “defensive” role.

There’s a lot at stake. In fact, Cisco has identified 414 cybersecurity-enabled digital use cases that will drive $7.6 trillion in value over the next decade. More than three-quarters of this value will arise from cybersecurity’s essential role in fueling innovation and growth. That’s $5.8 trillion in Digital Value at Stake. In other words, new value creation, or value that will shift among companies based on their ability to harness digital capabilities.

Cisco has identified 407 cybersecurity-enabled digital use cases tied to innovation and growth.
Source: Cisco, 2016

The challenge is that many companies are hitting speed bumps and slowing down. Our research revealed that 71 percent believe cybersecurity risks hinder their innovation. Thirty-nine percent have halted a mission-critical initiative due to cybersecurity concerns.

What’s encouraging is that about one-quarter of the survey respondents are shifting into high gear and speeding on, powered by the characteristics of a true “Security-Led Digital Organization.” Security-Led Digital Organizations recognize that cybersecurity concerns can inhibit innovation and hinder growth, but they proceed undaunted. These organizations are driven to be more proactive and aggressive in having cybersecurity take a leading role in their digitization effort. As a result, they have a key advantage: greater confidence in their security for three key digital capabilities — Big Data/Analytics, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). This confidence makes these “Secure Digitizers” more willing to pursue digital offerings, thereby accelerating innovation and time to market.

The cybersecurity confidence level of these organizations is particularly striking when compared with that of our other survey respondents, as you’ll see in the chart below:

Security-Led Digital Organizations (“Secure Digitizers”) are much more confident in the security of their digital strategies.
Source: Cisco, 2016

No company is immune to cyberattack. However, Security-Led Digital Organizations pursue digital innovations with greater confidence and speed because of their proactive and holistic approach to cybersecurity. This allows them to innovate faster and capture a greater share of their potential Digital Value at Stake. In fact, 62 percent report that they are performing “much better” than their peers in driving revenue from new products and services.

There has never been a better time to turn cybersecurity into your own growth advantage. Follow the example of Security-Led Digital Organizations to boldly pursue innovation and increase your growth in the digital era. It’s time to put “the pedal to the metal,” with cybersecurity as the growth driver.