Amsterdam, 14 October 2021 – One security decision maker described the shift to remote work imposed by the pandemic last year: “It was like replacing an airplane engine while it was in the air.” It turns out that it wasn’t easierThe state of security in a mixed world, study by Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) is among 1,250 security decision makers in medium and large organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Securing the future of work
With end users working from anywhere, and in some cases using their own devices to access cloud applications and corporate resources, the attack surface is greater than ever. Many IT organizations struggle to defend it. Citrix search shows:
- 74 percent of security decision makers say procedures and controls have become more complex as their organizations move to remote and blended work.
- 73 percent are struggling to keep up with the increasing amount of security risks posed by these new business models
Improve employee experience
Today’s employees want the flexibility to work wherever, when and how they want with the apps and devices of their choice. In addition to security decision makers, Citrix also polled 3,603 knowledge workers, and 66 percent said it was “extreme” or “very important” to be able to work remotely or from home, on any device.
Smart organizations understand this:
- 86 percent of Citrix survey respondents said it was “very important” or “very important” to creating a seamless employee experience.
- About nine out of ten measure the impact of information security on employee experience and productivity
Change the game
“IT organizations recognize that they are embracing hybrid work, and their attitudes toward security must change,” said Kurt Romer, chief security strategist at Citrix. “Instead of traditional command and control style strategies, they will take a smarter people-centred approach to security that protects employees without negatively impacting their experience.”
Most Citrix survey participants take steps to do just that. In fact, 79 percent of decision makers surveyed said the pandemic has created an opportunity to reform their long-term information security strategy with these goals in mind.
However, challenges remain. On the top three issues identified by employees who participated in the Citrix survey:
- Poor connection (43 percent)
- Technical issues resolved by default (34 percent).
- Inability to get IT support quickly/easily (32 percent)
Investing in the future
But there is not all bad news. While only 46 per cent of security decision-makers felt “somewhat ready” to work remotely when the pandemic broke out, 84 per cent now feel “very” or “somewhat” ready to secure their hybrid or remote workforce. away or from home.
- 58 percent say security investments have increased by 40 percent over the past 12 months. In the Netherlands the average increase was 29%.
- 71 percent say their company’s IT environment is now more secure than it was before the pandemic
This is critical, because as the State of Security in a Mixed World report notes, 52 percent of security decision makers believe the majority of their workforce will be permanently distant or mixed.
“The future of work is mixed, and information technology will play a critical role in delivering it,” Romer said. “With the right technology, they can provide consistent, secure, and reliable access to the resources employees need to work, wherever they need to do it, and enable them to perform at their best.”
Citrix provides a complete digital work platform uniquely designed to enable secure hybrid work. click Here To learn more about the platform and the value it can bring to the organization.
About Search
The state of security in a mixed world It examines the attitudes and experiences of security decision makers and knowledge workers in medium-sized organizations (more than 500 employees in the United States; more than 250 employees in all other markets) as the knowledge economy moves toward a mixed long-term business strategy. Citrix, in partnership with Sapio Research, conducted an independent survey of 1,250 security decision makers (job titles included director, senior manager, director, and vice president) working in large and medium-sized companies. The respondents were from the United States (413 participants), the United Kingdom (203), France (218), Germany (209) and the Netherlands (207). In addition, the study also surveyed 3,603 knowledge workers who work in medium-sized organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
This article is a submission and is not the responsibility of the editors.
