18 Feb 2009

Companies to 'increase security in 2009'

Businesses are increasingly turning to managed security solutions, according to an industry specialist.

Solutions firm MX Logic says there has been a significant upturn recently in the demand for internet protection among larger businesses.

Pete Khanna, president and chief operating officer of the company, believes organisations prefer managed solutions as a means of providing enterprise-grade email without the cost and complexity of setting up the processes.

"We expect demand to remain strong in 2009 as businesses look to further streamline their critical IT security processes and costs with efficient and easy-to-use services," he says.

Forrester research reveals that both large and small-to-medium enterprises are allocating more of their IT budget to security this year compared to 2008, with an overall average of 12.7 per cent being spent on protection.

Michael Marzy, chief executive officer of security specialist Steganos, recently advised companies to be aware of the data theft risks associated with mobile devices such as laptops and personal digital assistants.