The complexity of security solutions are becoming their own challenge as organisations manage an average of 83 different security solutions from 29 different vendors, new research from IBM and Palo Alto Networks finds.

The research, from IBM’s Institute for Business Value, found that seven out of ten surveyed companies that shift to a platformisation approach can improve cybersecurity outcomes, operational efficiencies, and revenue generation.

The study found that more than half (52%) of surveyed executives note the fragmentation of security solutions is limiting their ability to innovate and deal with cyber threats, with 75% agreeing better security integration is crucial to ongoing digital transformation and governance.

The analysis suggests a strategy of adding more solutions to combat evolving security issues is contributing to inefficiency – impacting both performance and the bottom line – while moving to a platformised security approach can help businesses achieve reduced response times and cost without sacrificing security efficacy.

The Reality of Complex Cybersecurity

Increased interconnectedness expands attack surfaces and creates new vulnerabilities. Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and harder to defend against, and AI is being used by both defenders and attackers, creating a race in cybersecurity capabilities.

In an evolving threat landscape, leaders estimate security fragmentation and complexity costs their organisations an average of 5% of their annual revenue.

For a £20 billion annual revenue company, that’s a £1bn cost to the business in aggregate. Tally the costs of security incidents, lost productivity, failed digital transformations, stalled AI initiatives, loss of customer trust and reputational damage and the numbers add up.

With 80% saying they face pressure to reduce the cost of security, and 41% saying that fragmentation has driven up procurement costs, it is vital that CISOs and executives drive down these costs stemming from a complex cyber configuration.

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Further, four out of five executives with non-platform organisations say their security operations cannot deal effectively with the sheer quantity of threats and attacks, making the issue not one just of financial practicality, but of security itself.

“Organisations continue to be challenged with updating their security posture to address new threats, while simultaneously being pressed to reduce complexity and decrease spend,” said Mark Hughes, global managing partner for cybersecurity services, IBM.

“Security executives need to enable innovation, protect assets and derive value from their cybersecurity investments to help their organisations thrive and further their business goals.”

Karim Temsamani, president, Next Generation Security, Palo Alto Networks added: “We have seen the positive impacts of adopting a platformised approach to security, and the benefits of what it delivers to organisations. In today’s AI-fueled world, strong partnerships are more essential than ever.”