Leadership Insights into the Evolving World of Cybersecurity - Imperatives for Marketers

(All views shared by panel members are personal and not representative of their organizations)??

Technology can be both a friend and foe. The adoption of all things digital, the exponential growth of data, and the availability of data-driven insights are creating an increasingly interconnected world and driving growth opportunities for businesses.??

With this, however, comes new risks.??

One industry study reported that 91% of organizations faced at least one cyber incident in 2022 compared to 88% in 2021. The impact is estimated at USD 4.35 million per breach. While the financial losses are significant, the far-reaching and often long-lasting consequences of trust and reputational damage is perhaps a key reason why 88% of boards now regard cybersecurity as a business risk rather than a technical or IT problem, according to Gartner.??

Keeping this in mind, in January, I had the pleasure of moderating a virtual roundtable to discuss the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape and the marketing opportunities that lie within. I was joined by senior industry leaders: Swastik Mukherjee, Head of Cybersecurity Sales Europe at Tata Consultancy Services, Tanu Kak, Global Marketing Head, Cybersecurity & GRC Services at HCLTech, and Kapil Sarin, Field Marketing Leader – SW, IBM India.?Here are some of our reflections. ?

Burgeoning Growth of the Cybersecurity Industry??

As the overall technology industry sees slower growth, the outlook for the cybersecurity segment remains bright, with one industry source predicting a CAGR of 12-13% in 2023 — almost twice that of the wider technology industry.??

While there are many reasons for this, fundamentally, it is being driven by resilience and regulations. Even as digital trust regulations make organisations more publicly accountable for protecting the massive amount of customer data they hold, many are increasingly cognizant of the need to strengthen their own cyber-resiliency internally, particularly with the rise of digital transformation and remote work.?

That’s not to say that playing defense is easy.??

The scale and complexity of cyberattacks is growing as more workloads in the cloud and across devices open new doorways for bad actors. This is prompting cybersecurity vendors to respond with newer, more sophisticated solutions.??

Pinpointing the Bright Spots??

Our panelists point to Zero Trust, MDR, Identity and Access Management as some of the fastest-growing services in demand. Forward-looking organisations are also looking to invest in emerging areas like post-quantum cryptography, metaverse security, and OT security, to name a few.??

From an industry standpoint, they expect demand for cybersecurity solutions to remain high in Banking & Financial Services, given the sector has been a frontrunner in digital transformation, and handles volume and sensitivity of customer data. They also singled out the Manufacturing sector as an emerging potential bright spot fueled by Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Other notable mentions include Government Administration and Public Sector Agencies as well as the Healthcare and Life Science sectors.??

Evolving from an era where the bigger the brand, the bigger risk, our panelists are also seeing growth momentum among SMB and mid-market organisations. Many are shoring up defenses as compliance needs intensify — whether it is due their customer’s supply chain requirements in B2B or tightening data privacy regulations in the case of B2C players.??

Herein lies is a sizeable opportunity for cybersecurity marketers ?to help effectively navigate the complex and crowded marketplace. ??

Marketing Imperative 1:??

Get into the Minds of CISOs?

CISOs are juggling many priorities - regulatory requirements, the need to demonstrate value to the board, protecting their investments and TCO. It doesn’t help that the sector is facing an acute talent shortage, with skills like cloud security, automation, Identity and Access Management in high demand right now.?

The CISO also has the unenviable job of untangling a web of cybersecurity tools and solutions, many of which were quickly put in place during the pandemic. Many understand that unifying these silos and adopting a platform-centric approach could improve visibility and accelerate the speed of detection, which a Ponemon-IBM study suggests now takes over 300 days to do.???

With so much keeping CISOs up at night, it is little wonder that vendors have a better chance of success if they understand their challenges and engage with them with the right message at the right time. To engage this audience effectively, marketers need to speak crisply, show understanding, and provide expert advice:??

Marketing Imperative 2:

?Influence the Influencers

Gone are the days where the CISO was the sole decision maker. Majority of decision makers (67%) say that four or more people are now involved in one purchase decision. This makes sense because digital transformation touches almost the entire organisation.

?The new buying committee includes a variety of stakeholders, such as the Chief Digital Officer and teams handling cloud, data or digital environments. A key differential between them and a CISO audience is that security may not immediately be top-of-mind for them. This makes education important. Creating awareness about the need for cybersecurity early helps prime them to think of your brand at the right time in the sales cycle.

Third-party validation or social proof can help in this regard. When considering a new solution for their companies, audiences can be influenced by expert recommendations (47%), user reviews (44%), analyst or peer recommendations (42%). Staying active in these communities and converting loyal customers into brand advocates are effective ways to raise awareness and boost brand preference versus competitors.?

Marketing Imperative 3:

Build trust for the long-term

With cybersecurity solutions being a critical business need, most buyers want outcomes, not just solutions; they are looking for partners, not just vendors. Building brand equity in their minds and effectively positioning your brand as a reliable, trustworthy partner is key to staying top-of-mind before, during, and after what is typically a long sales cycle.

An Exciting Future Lies Ahead

The road ahead is an exciting one, with turns and bends created by advancements in technology like AI and the need for deeper penetration of technologies like privilege access management and identity access management across many industries.?

While organizations’ needs and challenges will evolve, cyber-resiliency will remain a priority. An overall focus on threat-based defense, unified solutions and extended detection and response capabilities is likely to grow, creating new marketing opportunities in these areas.

What is equally important is to support the customers throughout their buying journey – by proactively understanding their needs, educating them and building trust over time.

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