Organizations now believe that developing their IT security capabilities delivers value far beyond protecting against cyber threats. They see it as a long-term strategic investment that drives digital transformation, enhances business resilience and fosters sustainable growth. These insights originate from the latest global study conducted by Kaspersky’s Internal Research Center.
To understand what enterprises actually get out of investing in cybersecurity, Kaspersky conducted a global study of 1,800 IT and cybersecurity decision-makers and specialists, representing organizations across 18 countries and multiple industries, including IT, manufacturing, finance, retail and wholesale etc.
These findings carry particular significance in the context of accelerating cloud adoption, AI implementation and business automation. As organizations lean further into digital transformation, cybersecurity is increasingly seen as a foundation for innovation rather than merely a protective barrier. That shift is clearly reflected in the priorities of decision-makers, particularly those at large enterprises (2500+ employees), who emphasize the strategic value of developing their IT security functions.
Data protection was identified as the primary business value delivered by cybersecurity enhancement, cited by 35% of respondents. As enterprises process increasing volumes of sensitive business and customer information, protecting data has become essential not only for mitigating cyber risks but also for ensuring operational continuity and regulatory compliance. With evolving privacy laws and stricter enforcement, robust cybersecurity measures have become a crucial tool for organizations to stay compliant while protecting both their assets and their customers.
The second most frequently cited benefit is the ability to safely adopt new technologies, including cloud services, artificial intelligence and automation. This was mentioned by more than a quarter (27%) of participants. While emerging technologies bring new opportunities, they also introduce rapidly evolving risks, including expanding the attack surface for external threat actors seeking vulnerabilities and outpacing internal governance as employees adopt these innovations more quickly than formal oversight can keep up. This dual exposure underscores why secure adoption of new technologies has risen above financial-loss prevention as a top priority for enterprises.
Financial resilience also remains a major driver of IT security investment. Nearly one quarter (24%) of respondents believe that strengthening cybersecurity helps reduce financial risks and unexpected losses. Additionally, 23% emphasize that preventing cyberattacks is significantly more valuable than dealing with their consequences after an incident occurs, while another 23% see cybersecurity as a critical enabler of secure business growth.
The study also highlights that previous experience with cyber incidents influences business priorities. Organizations that avoided security incidents over the past year are more likely to associate cybersecurity with improving operational efficiency and maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements, while companies that experienced incidents place greater emphasis on the ability to safely adopt new technologies, reducing financial and human error risks and strengthening their competitive position.
“As organizations accelerate their digital transformation, cybersecurity has evolved from a protective function into a strategic enabler of innovation and sustainable growth. This shift is increasingly reflected in the priorities of enterprise leaders, who recognize that effective security must not only strengthen resilience but also simplify operations in today’s complex IT environments. That is why we continue to invest in comprehensive, platform-based solutions such as Kaspersky Next XDR Expert, bringing prevention, detection, and response together in a single ecosystem that empowers organizations to manage security more efficiently while supporting their long-term business objectives,” comments Ilya Markelov, Head of Unified Platform Product Line at Kaspersky.
To help companies strengthen resilience against evolving cyberthreats, Kaspersky experts recommend:
- Providing InfoSec teams with comprehensive threat context through the latest Kaspersky Threat Intelligence. This delivers actionable insights across the entire incident management lifecycle, enabling security professionals to identify emerging cyber risks faster, prioritize investigations and improve response effectiveness.
- Deploy solutions from the Kaspersky Next product line that provide real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation and response capabilities across EPP, EDR and XDR. Organizations can choose the solution that best fits their current needs and available resources, and easily migrate to another one if their cybersecurity requirements are changing.
Enterprises can also translate the value of IT security into measurable resilience through Kaspersky expert guidance that is tailored to their specific environment.
