2018 is Expected to See $96 Billion in IT Security Investments
If you were considering increasing your investment into your information security in 2018, you certainly aren’t alone. Gartner released a report that indicated a considerable rise in plans to invest in key security considerations.
Closer analysis of these considerations shows that businesses around the world are paying attention to essential security requirements that have seen relatively smaller portions of budgetary spending in the past, as well as increasing their security investments as a whole. For example, while identity access management sees the smallest amount invested, it is anticipated that there will be an increase in spending of 9.7 percent between 2017 and 2018.
In addition, spending on network security, security services, and infrastructure protection is expected to rise by 6.7 percent, 11 percent, and 7.7 percent, respectively.
Why? Simply put, 2017 was a rough year, in terms of security breaches and other attacks. Worldwide events, like WannaCry and NotPetya, have shown the importance of comprehensive network security preparations. Another recent reinforcement of this lesson came when the Equifax breach came to light. As is usually the case when a certain something hits the metaphorical fan, businesses are taking notice.
However, if these projections prove accurate, it may still not be enough.
With technology becoming more and more critical to business operations with every week that goes by, cybersecurity is only going to become more important–important enough that an overall spending increase of 8% might not be enough of an investment. After all, technology is becoming a factor in more and more elements of life, which gives a botnet more ammunition–and that’s just one example.
Fortunately, many businesses are also planning on outsourcing their security needs to experienced and trusted professionals. Spending on that is expected to increase by 11%. Will some of this increase be due to your investment?
If it is, reach out to Catalyst Technology Group first. Our IT professionals are adept in ways to keep your business secure, as well as ways to improve your business’ performance. Give us a call at (317) 705-0333 for more information.
How Much of 2016’s $825 Billion in Unpaid Invoices Were Owed to You?
The primary reason that businesses are opened is to make money. Whether it’s to sustain a lifestyle, provide funds for a cause, or some other goal, a business needs an incoming cash flow in order to stay open. However, this is a fairly large problem for many small businesses, as their invoices often don’t return in a timely manner.
As a small-to-medium-sized business owner, operator, or even employee, you depend on the business to make money so that you can meet the financial obligations that life presents you. However, most industries have taken to offering payment terms that stretch the time that an invoice must be paid by to 30, 60, or as many as 90 days.
As a result, many businesses–most likely including yours–have encountered difficulties in their operations as they wait for the payments from their clientele to come in.
These difficulties are far more prevalent than one may initially think. It is estimated that a full 5 percent of the national gross domestic product is made up of unpaid invoices, the average small business waiting for about $ 84 thousand in unpaid invoices, 81 percent of which are past due by 30 days. Comparatively, the average small businesses has about 27 days worth of capital available to them in reserve.
In 2016 alone, there was an estimated $ 825 billion in unpaid invoices owed to small businesses.
Clearly, this causes a problem for many small and even medium-sized businesses. With their money tied up in sustaining themselves until their cash flows continue, these businesses aren’t able to improve their operations. What was the last project you started that had to be put on hold because there simply weren’t the available funds to cover it?
As much as we hate to ask you to make an investment when we just said that small businesses aren’t able to access the funds they need to function, Catalyst Technology Group can help you reduce your capital spend by transferring a lot of your financial obligations into predictable, budgeted amounts where your IT is concerned. We’re here to help you utilize software to enable your business to run smoothly with solutions that will help you manage and track where your money is, and isn’t, coming from.
Call us at (317) 705-0333 for more information about line of business applications and programs that can help you keep track of your invoices.