Whilst 86% of the 92 IT security experts felt pressure to deliver cost savings to their business, only 34% understood that implementing SaaS security could represent bottom line savings, the survey found.
Even those that acknowledged the cost benefits SaaS delivers, “grossly underestimated the actual potential savings which is nearly 80% over on-premise solutions”, Websense said.
Despite these ‘misunderstandings’ about SaaS security solutions, the survey also revealed that many in the IT community are moving to embrace SaaS security, with nearly 60% of the respondents planning to consider using SaaS security solutions in the future.
Respondents also reported that they believe the greatest support for SaaS security comes from the CIO/CSO level (28%). One in five also believed support would come from the Executive Board.
Reason why companies sometimes resist looking at SaaS security solutions included: fear of losing direct control (83%); belief that companies resist stepping out of the comfort zone of their on-site solutions (63%); perceived disruption to established security services (26%); and belief that resistance could be due to the related changes to internal IT job functions (11%).
“The research shows that many people still don’t understand the true cost savings and level of security provided by today’s SaaS security solutions. Yet, everyday more IT professionals are learning the true benefits of SaaS solutions, and the majority of professionals are willing to consider using SaaS security in the future”, said Jonathan Wilkinson, messaging security manager at Websense.
“In a climate where keeping costs low is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, SaaS security provides IT directors with the ability to concentrate on other projects that provide value to the organisation”, he added.
Key findings from the Websense survey included:
- 23% of respondents believed that SaaS delivers a greater level of protection than an on-premise security solution
- Almost a quarter (23%) believe that SaaS security solutions offer companies lower level protection than on-premises solutions
- 29% believe SaaS security offers the same level of protection as on-premise solutions
- 57% of respondents feel SaaS is a viable option for consideration whilst 34% are not sure
If a company were to propose using a SaaS security solution, the greatest level of support was deemed to come from: 28% CIO/CSO, 26% IT department, 20% The Executive Board; 14% Sales & Marketing, 9% Finance, and 3% CEO.