About nine in 10 (89%) organisations expect a significant or moderate increase in data security budgets in the next year, a new report from Normalyze shows.

Escalating threat landscapes and stringent regulatory requirements like GDPR and HIPAA are expected to drive this rise in budget, the report found.

Despite these investments, however, many organisations continue to struggle with the complexities of managing vast, unstructured data environments and ensuring compliance.

The report, which surveyed 209 US-based security decision makers, underscores the significant gaps in data protection that data security posture management could address.

To underscore what is overlooked in data security, the survey revealed the top data protection priorities for the next one to two years, which include reducing the opportunity for threats to infiltrate data stores (59%), improving data security posture (53%), and demonstrating ROI through improved reporting and business communication (42%).

The report did reveal that overall, the adoption of data security posture management (DSPM) is on the rise, particularly among larger organisation with 72% of companies with 10,000+ employees confident in DSPM’s capabilities.

About two thirds (67%) of organisations expressed confidence in DSPM’s ability to provide suitable data protection, and three quarters (76%) of respondents who have already deployed a DSPM solution agree that DSPM provides visibility and security in data-heavy environments, essential for preventing data breaches and ensuring regulatory compliance.

With data breaches costing an average of $4.45 million per incident, and the report revealing that many organisations still have inadequate data labelling which can lead to increased risks and non-compliance, data management has never been more important.

“Organizations must prioritize data classification and governance to stay ahead of evolving threats and regulatory demands,” said Adam Strange, Principal Analyst at Omdia. “This research makes it clear that organizations are still struggling with data security and DSPM appears to be the next stop on many roadmaps.”

Recommended reading

• Lacking Cybersecurity Skills Causing Majority of Data Breaches
• Scots Businesses Trailing UK on Data & Security
• Data Security Gap Threatens European Collaboration

However, DSPM implementation can be a challenge, with companies struggling to make new hires or find internal resources (61%) and finding difficulty in selecting vendors and tools (51%). Obtaining executive buy-in (38%) was also a challenge cited by survey respondents.

“DSPM is a strategic enabler for a wide range of use cases, including AI initiatives, data migration projects, and data hygiene efforts. Data context and security must be the first step in these endeavors – without it, these projects are destined to fail,” said Amer Deeba, CEO and co-founder of Normalyze. “The economic value becomes clear when considering how many of these projects fail due to a lack of classified data, which stems from insufficient understanding and alignment among leadership to secure the necessary budget and resources from the outset.”