Keeping Security Costs Low During a Recession
Sticking with the tools you already have doesn't mean compromising security, analyst says.
Yankee Group analyst Phil Hochmuth said efforts to control IT security costs in the current economic environment should be focused on getting more mileage out of the tools that are already in place, not on delaying planned new protections.
That approach could reduce the need for additional spending without leaving companies defenseless against new security threats, according to Hochmuth.
For instance, he said that instead of buying separate intrusion-prevention tools, companies could take advantage of similar functionality offered in products such as network routers and firewall devices.
Security managers should be "thinking about how to eliminate redundancies and pare down the infrastructure" wherever it's possible to do so, Hochmuth said.
As companies tighten their belts because of the recession, he added, it's inevitable that IT security budgets will be geared more toward fighting fires than toward costly technology deployments.
"The intensive projects that require a lot of capital outlay and work on the integration side are probably going to be throttled back," Hochmuth said. He also expects companies to look more closely at integrating their security, networking and operations teams and reducing their staffing levels.
—Jaikumar Vijayan
