Security leaders can practice a couple of ways to keep security costs under control amid an economic slowdown.
Several companies have seen their digital transformation efforts accelerate during the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to companies reallocating their planned IT and non-IT budgets to prioritize technology and network security for managing the sudden shift in the distributed workforce.
Now, enterprises are also finding ways to control their IT costs as their security budgets have also taken a hit. A report by Pulse revealed that 75% of IT budgets were frozen in May. Hence, it is essential to control costs during a crisis by practicing a couple of steps. This would have a direct impact on IT spending in the new distributed workforce.
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Managing logging data
It is important for security leaders to focus on logs and control network activity many employees are working from home. Companies have witnessed an explosion in the volume of remote access logs, as people moved their office base to home.
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They feel inputting more data into the security and information, and event management system (SIEM) is the only way for log management. However, to cut costs, companies should ensure only the right type of data is inserted in their SIEMs. Sending all data can waste operational expenses. A thorough evaluation can help them reduce 60% – 80% of their SIEM’s daily data ingestion.
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Keep only essential licensing
Many organizations either forgot or could not check which of its licensing was paid for a month-to-month basis at the beginning of the pandemic. The contract concept allows organizations to cancel the licensing if the employees are working remotely and will not need it.
They can subscribe to the licensing again when they need it. Firms need to start the practice of slashing off non-essential licensing, which is mostly paid for on a month-to-month basis.
Many companies have the common trait of having an excess number of licenses for email, helpdesk, and other services. The new licensing model needs to be followed, allowing them to cut back costs and save companies 10% to 15% of their monthly licensing expenses.
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Cloud migration
Migrating to the cloud in a cost-effective way is essential. Organizations need to put the right elements in the right cloud infrastructure, and base that infrastructure off of the right components.
It is important for companies to know that controlling security costs means spending the right money on the right upgrades and tools. Also, determining how to scale back the existing systems is vital. Firms should spend wisely and look for advantages with every purchase. This is possible if there is a regular evaluation of the current operational budget.
