IT Security Leaders Prioritize Investments in Automation, Zero Trust and API-based Security to Protect a Rapidly Transforming IT Ecosystem


Global Independent Study of 500 Senior Level Respondents Provides Clear Picture for the Future of Network Security

Dallas, Texas | March 23, 2021 | – Distinct priorities have emerged when it comes to responding to the needs of IT security’s rapid transformation, independent research sponsored by FireMon has found. The survey of 500 cybersecurity leaders across North America and EMEA uncovered the key investments organizations are making, and the rationale behind their decisions.

“The study shows that a cocktail of multiplying threats, the proliferation of hybrid and cloud architectures, blended with a pandemic-fueled explosion in distributed and remote work has created a perfect storm for network security teams,” said Satin H. Mirchandani, President and CEO of FireMon.  “It’s no wonder that they’re adding new technologies, architectures, and approaches to ensure their networks remain protected.”

The survey identified five major areas for network security investment:

  • Automation – More than 50 percent of organizations are currently investing in automating policy management to safeguard against inefficient and risky functions and 79 percent say they’ll implement security orchestration and automation within two years to improve agility and responsiveness.

  • Zero Trust – 45 percent of organizations plan to implement a Zero Trust in the next 12 months, adding to the 17 percent of organizations that have already begun this process. The biggest drivers are a greater need for secure remote access (72 percent), reducing cybersecurity risk (70 percent), and supporting the transition to cloud architectures (51 percent).

  • Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) – 85 percent of organizations have either already implemented a SASE platform or plan to do so within two years.

  • Security-Development Misalignment: 82 percent of IT leaders admit their application development (DevOps) and network security operations teams are not well aligned.

  • Heterogeneity and Integration: With growing complexity and heterogeneity, 95% of respondents are concerned about the lack of integration of network security platforms and their IT infrastructure.

From an automation perspective,…

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