Most CIOs Consider Adopting Emerging Security Technologies in 2020

CIOs are switching focus from the security of endpoints to the protection of identity access, which is a critical aspect of cybersecurity now that so many people work from remote locations.

The overnight shift in the work paradigm, from office desks to home couches, forced security departments everywhere to quickly adopt a more strict security posture. People leave the protective umbrella of the corporate infrastructure and now tunnel back into the company, usually from unsecure networks.

CIOs have their work cut out, and recent developments in the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that the status quo is not changing anytime soon. The situation will likely go on long enough to affect budgets. It's clear that resource allocation will change, and focusing on access management makes a lot of sense right now.

Long-term plans were affected from the start, with 70 percent of CIOs saying their priorities have changed. Cybersecurity is now their focus, with 89 percent saying that it's their primary concern.

"Their goals reflect these new priorities: 86% said they're aiming to improve security standards across their environment, while 80% are making their tech stack more flexible for remote and on-premise users, found the recent survey conducted by Pulse on behalf of Hitachi ID.

"While budgets are tight for half the respondents, who don't expect an increase in spending, the other half of CIOs expect their budgets to increase in 2020 to reflect shifts in IT. Some 33% anticipated a 5% increase, 13% foresaw a 5-10% increase, and 9% expected an increase greater than 10%," the survey also revealed.

The pandemic and the new remote workspace situation is also prompting the adoption of new technologies, with 67 percent of CIOs saying they're more willing to invest in emerging technologies. Moreover, 87 percent of the CIOs plan on adopting emerging security technology in 2020, while 71% would consider emerging AI and machine learning technology.

The survey covered 131 CIOs, VPs and Directors at small, mid-sized and enterprise companies, from May 14 to June 20, 2020.