KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Blog

IT Budgets Are on the Rise in Part Due to Organizational Concerns for Security

Written by Stu Sjouwerman | Nov 18, 2019 12:00:00 PM

Security remains a primary driver as organizations work to establish budgets that keep IT cutting edge, competitive, and secure, according to new data from Spiceworks.

For every IT organization, the budgeting process requires a look back over the course of the last 12 months, along with some guesses for the future – all looking to establish the right amount of corporate dollars and subsequent allocation that will ensure the organization is ready to address the operational risks that will come in the following year.

According to Spiceworks’ 2020 State of IT Report, 44% of organizations expect to see increases in IT their budgets for next year – a rise from 38% the previous year.

While lots of factors, such as old infrastructure, IT priority, and increased revenues all impact the IT budget, one factor represents a significant and increasing risk to the organization – security.

And it’s not just security worries that are driving budget increases; according to the report, one in four enterprises (those with 1,000+ employees) are increasing 2020 IT spend having experienced to a recent security incident.

According to Gartner, the total spend on cybersecurity is estimated to be at $124 billion, with that number increasing to $170 billion by 2022.

The all-too-real pain (and cost) of data breaches, ransomware attacks, and CEO fraud is causing decision-makers to realize the need to improve the organization’s security stance. And so organizations are "putting their money where their mouth is" and putting more emphasis on security spend.