SUNNYVALE, CA — (Marketwired) — 03/19/15 — , a market leader in enterprise security, today revealed the results of an independent global research study by Vanson Bourne showing a strong link between financial performance and the ability to cope with growing cyber threats.
Blue Coat–s research, amongst 1580 respondents across 11 countries, found that organizations that make cyber security a priority are better prepared to make important, yet risky, business decisions. While most of those surveyed believed their organizations encouraged risk taking and new ideas, approaches to IT security varied by country .
Risk-taking was viewed as having a positive impact on business performance by 66 percent globally. In the United States, a dominant 75 percent of respondents viewed risk-taking as positive.
Concerns about IT security and risk are holding back the potential of many organizations, according to 60 percent of respondents in the United States.
The survey found that those who address these concerns are best positioned to reap clear business benefits. Amongst high growth businesses, those with over 20 percent revenue growth, 93 percent of all respondents cited IT security as a key to achieving their business goals.
[Source: Economist Jan 2015* and Vanson Bourne survey for Blue Coat]
Businesses instinctively know success comes from risk taking, but today IT security often holds many organizations back. This research shows those who make the investment in IT security thrive, while those who do not fall behind. Blue Coat–s goal is to help businesses analyze risks and make those decisions that help them grow.
IT teams being perceived as risk adverse may be a result of IT professionals understanding the risks better than their line of business colleagues. This can be an issue which affects the growth of a business. In fact, 60 percent of respondents believe their IT teams are less likely to permit risk taking than their business colleagues.
Europeans were most conservative in this regard, with respectively 67 percent German, and 66 percent of both UK and French believing their IT policies held back risk-taking, versus 57 percent of respondents in the United States, and just 45 percent of Chinese respondents and 44 percent of respondents in India.
Despite the clear correlation between businesses that invested heavily in IT and revenue growth, there is a wide range of responses when it comes to practical measures that help mitigate the risks carried by new technology. Only 52 percent of all organizations interviewed always conduct risk analyses before adopting new applications. In the United States, 55 percent of respondents said they always perform an analysis, but consistency among European respondents to this survey varied. In the UK, 59 percent of people carried out risk analysis, compared to 41 percent for France and 37 percent in Germany.
[Source: Economist Jan 2015 and Vanson Bourne survey for Blue Coat]
Managing the balance between risk and financial performance is a key to business success. Blue Coat solutions help companies to develop accurate risk analysis so they can make the right decisions, weigh their risks accurately and stand to gain the most.
Blue Coat is a leader in enterprise security, providing on-premise, hybrid and cloud-based solutions for protecting web connectivity, combating advanced threats and responding to security breaches. Blue Coat is the global market leader in securing connection to the web and counts nearly 80 percent of the Global Fortune 500 as its customers. For additional information, please visit
Blue Coat and the Blue Coat logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Blue Coat Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
Maureen O–Connell
Blue Coat Systems
408-541-3279
Dave Bowker
MSLGroup
781-684-0770
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