This study presents the findings from IDC's Australia Security Survey, 2006. Specifically, 257 Australian organisations were surveyed to identify how IT security is purchased, implemented, and managed, as well as what the customer pain points are and where and how customers intend to spend their IT security budgets.

IDC market research predicts continued healthy growth in IT security spending. This study supports that whilst security has fallen on the list of CIO concerns, it will continue to be a top priority for Australian organisations. The survey shows that nearly 70% of respondents are not confident in their organisations' IT security posture. Organisations are still concerned with viruses, worms, spyware, spam, phishing, and other threats. Main challenges in maintaining a strong security posture include budget constraints, lack of skilled staff, increasing sophistication of attacks, and security management complexity. Opportunities are revealed for both product vendors and service providers. As a sample, IDC's end-user research indicates that security suites are gaining in popularity over point products as a means to reduce complexity. "The survey shows that security remains a critical concern to Australian organisations and reveals a positive outlook for growth for security vendors and service providers in the Australian market," says Patrik Bihammar, senior market analyst, Security and System Management Software, IDC Australia.

• In This Study
  • Methodology
    • Respondent Demographics
    • Figure: Respondents by Company Size
    • Figure: Respondents by Vertical Industry
    • Figure: Respondents by State
    • Figure: Respondents by Job Role
• Situation Overview
  • Introduction
  • Survey Findings - The State of IT Security in Australian Organisations
    • Security Has Fallen in the List of Top Concerns of CIOs
    • Table: Top 10 Challenges on CIO Menu, 1997-2006
    • IT Security Confidence Levels
    • Figure: IT Security Confidence Level
    • Figure: Need for Further IT Security Investments
    • Security Threats
    • Figure: Top 3 Security Threats by Issue Type
      • Application Threats
      • Content Threats
      • Spyware
      • Network Threats
      • Threats Related to Mobility
    • Security Challenges
    • Conflicting Challenges
    • Figure: Top 3 Security Challenges by Issue Type
    • Drivers for Security Investments
      • Other Drivers
      • Figure: Top 3 Drivers for Investing in IT Security by Issue Type (%)
    • Security Roles and Responsibilities
      • Person Responsible for IT Security Strategy
      • Figure: Person Responsible for IT Security Strategy
      • Person Responsible for Identifying, Evaluating, and Recommending Security Solutions
      • Figure: Person Responsible for Identifying, Evaluating, and Recommending Security Products/Solutions
      • Person Responsible for Making the Final Decision Regarding IT Security Spending
      • Figure: Person Responsible for Making the Final Decision Regarding IT Security Spending
    • IT Security Policy
    • Figure: IT Security Policy
  • Security Adoption Trends
  • Figure: Adoption Rate of Security Solutions
    • Antivirus, Antispam, Firewalls and Anti-Spyware
    • Intrusion Detection and Prevention
    • Patch Management
    • Encryption
    • Identity and Access Management
    • Biometrics and Two-Factor Authentication
    • Key Investment Areas
    • Adoption of Managed Security Services
    • Figure: Adoption Rate of Managed Security Services
    • Procurement Channels
    • Figure: Procurement Channels
  • IT Security Spending
    • IT Security Budget
    • Figure: IT Security Proportion of Total IT Budget in 2006
    • Vertical Differences
    • Figure: Adequate IT Security Spending
    • Change in Security Budget
    • Figure: Planned Increase/Decrease in IT Security Budget in 2006
    • Uses for a Larger IT Security Budget
    • Figure: Uses for a Larger IT Security Budget
    • Implementation Spending
    • Figure: 2006 Security Spending Allocation for New Implementation, Upgrade, Support and Maintenance
      • Spending Across Hardware, Software and Services
      • Figure: 2006 Security Spending Across Hardware, Software and Services
        • Platform Preference for Secure Content Management Solutions
        • Figure: Platform Preference for Secure Content Management Solutions
      • Point Products Versus Security Suites
      • Figure: Preference for Purchasing Secure Content Management Products as a Suite Versus Point Product
      • Figure: Preference for Purchasing Identity Access Management Products as a Suite Versus Point Product
  • Vendor Perception/Mindshare
    • Secure Content Management Vendors
    • Figure: Top Vendors Perceived to Have Expertise in the Secure Content Management Space
    • Firewall/VPN Vendors
    • Figure: Top Vendors Perceived to Have Expertise in the Firewall/VPN Space
    • Identity and Access Management Vendors
    • Figure: Top Vendors Perceived to Have Expertise in the Identity and Access Management Space
    • Intrusion Detection and Prevention Vendors
    • Figure: Top Vendors Perceived to Have Expertise in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Space
    • Security Services Vendors
    • Figure: Top Vendors Perceived to Have Expertise in the Security Services Space
    • Managed Security Services Vendors
    • Figure: Top Vendors Perceived to Have Expertise in the Managed Security Services Space
• Future Outlook
• Essential Guidance
• Learn More
  • Related Research
  • Synopsis