2019

IBM, Lenovo, HPE and Huawei Servers Maintain Top Reliability Rankings; Cisco Makes Big Gains IBM, Lenovo hardware up to 24x more reliable; 28x more economical vs. least reliable White box servers

2019, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

ITIC’s latest 2019 Global Server Hardware, Server OS Reliability Mid-Year Update survey results indicate that mission critical servers from IBM, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Huawei all maintained their top positions, achieving “four to six nines” of uptime.
These findings come at a time when businesses’ demand for high reliability and continuous, uninterrupted data access is at an all-time high.
ITIC’s latest survey data finds that the most reliable mainstream server platforms – the IBM Power Systems, Lenovo ThinkSystem, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Huawei KunLun deliver up to 24x more uptime and availability than the least dependable unbranded “White box” servers. Additionally, the superior uptime of the above top ranked mission critical hardware makes them up to 28x more economical and cost effective than the least stable White box servers.
High end mission critical server distributions from IBM, Lenovo, HPE and Huawei each recorded just under or approximately two (2) minutes of per server, per annum unplanned downtime due to inherent flaws in the underlying hardware or component parts (See Exhibit 1). By contrast, the least consistent hardware – unbranded White box servers – averaged 49 minutes of unplanned per server, per annum downtime due to problems or failures with the server or its components (e.g. hard drive, memory, cooling systems etc.).
Server hardware reliability directly impacts ongoing daily business transactions and productivity. There are immediate monetary costs associated with server outages of even a few minutes. The disparity in the annual downtime cost comparisons among the top performing and the least reliable server hardware, is eye-opening.

A single hour of downtime calculated at $100,000 equates to $1,667 per server/per minute.

Corporations that deploy the most highly reliable servers: the IBM Power Systems; Lenovo ThinkSystem; HPE Superdome and Huawei KunLun (in that order) that averaged just under or about two (2) minutes of unplanned per server downtime, potentially could expect to lose approximately $3,000 per server/per minute for an hour of downtime calculated at a very conservative $100,000. By contrast, businesses that deploy the least reliable unbranded White box servers which recorded 49 minutes of unplanned per server annual downtime due to the inherent hardware instability could potentially lose $81,683 based on hourly downtime costs of $100,000. The superior economics of the most reliable versus least reliable servers is even more apparent for businesses that estimate or calculate hourly downtime losses of $300,000; $500,000 or $1,000,000 or higher.

Servers are the bedrock upon which the entire network infrastructure and extended network ecosystem rests. When servers fail, data access is denied. Business stops. Productivity ceases. Revenue suffers.

Some 86% of organizations now require a minimum 99.99% reliability for their firms’ server hardware, operating systems and main line-of-business applications to ensure productivity and deliver uninterrupted data access. High reliability and availability also safeguards the corporation’s daily operations, business processes and revenue stream.

IBM Z, IBM POWER, Lenovo ThinkSystem, HPE Integrity and Huawei KunLun Servers Maintain Highest Uptime Rankings

The latest ITIC 2019 Reliability Mid-Year Update survey polled over 800 corporations from July through early September. The study compared the reliability and availability of over one dozen of the most widely deployed mainstream server platforms and one dozen operating system (OS) distributions. ITIC’s latest study updated a select subset of the survey questions from its annual 2019 Global Server Hardware, Server OS Reliability poll. The poll also tracked the impact of pivotal issues like security, human error, software flaws and aging server hardware on corporate server reliability. To obtain the most accurate and unbiased results, ITIC accepted no vendor sponsorship.

Organizations conduct business 24 x 7 irrespective of time or location, 365 days a year. Corporations continue to expand their operations into the cloud and connect people, applications and devices via the Internet of Things (IoT). Applications like Analytics, AI and Business Intelligence (BI) are complex and compute intensive. They place greater demands on the server hardware. The corporate workforce is increasingly mobile. Users access data from myriad devices. Companies require fast, efficient processing and throughput. It must be secure by design, secure in use, secure in transmission and secure at rest.

To reiterate, all of the high end mission critical servers maintained their top ranked positions from ITIC’s earlier 2019 Global Server Hardware Server OS Reliability Survey published in the first calendar quarter of this year.
The IBM Z mainframe system is in a class of its own, delivering true fault tolerance – “six nines” – 99.9999% uptime to 89% of enterprise users. It delivered imperceptible instances of inherent server failure – 0.74 seconds per/server due to any inherent flaws in the server hardware.

Among the mainstream server distributions, IBM’s Power Systems topped the poll, registering a record low of 1.75 minutes per server downtime followed very closely by the Lenovo Think System servers with 1.88 minutes of per server downtime due to any flaws in the server hardware. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) Superdome X, Huawei’s KunLun FusionServer x86 platforms each recorded 2 minutes of server downtime due to any underlying problems with the server hardware.
Each of these distributions delivered a solid “five nines,” 99.999% of inherent hardware reliability. These leading edge server platforms experienced minimal amounts of unplanned downtime due to flaws in the server hardware or any of its component parts.
ITIC’s 2019 Reliability Mid-Year Update Survey did deliver a few surprises. Cisco Systems’ Unified Computing System (UCS) servers – which are frequently deployed at the network edge – showed a marked improvement in reliability. The Cisco UCS servers reduced per server/per annum downtime by nearly 50% from the 4.1 minutes in ITIC’s prior first quarter reliability survey to 2.3 minutes in the latest poll.
ITIC’s Mid-Year Update survey for the first time also included uptime statistics for Inspur Systems, headquartered in Jinan, China as one of the top five server vendors worldwide in terms of shipments. Inspur server offerings scored in the middle range of hardware platforms with 9.1 minutes of unplanned downtime.

Metrics of three, four and five nines of uptime – 99.9%, 99.99% and 99.999%, – equate to 8.76 hours; 4.38 hours, 52.56 and 5.26 minutes of per server/per annum downtime, respectively.

IBM, Lenovo, HPE and Huawei Servers Maintain Top Reliability Rankings; Cisco Makes Big Gains IBM, Lenovo hardware up to 24x more reliable; 28x more economical vs. least reliable White box servers Read More »

Hourly Downtime Costs Rise: 86% of Firms Say One Hour of Downtime Costs $300,000+; 34% of Companies Say One Hour of Downtime Tops $1Million

2019, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

Hourly downtime costs continue to increase for all businesses irrespective of size or vertical market. This trend has been evident over the last five to seven years. ITIC’s latest 2019 Global Server Hardware, Server OS Reliability Survey, which polled over 1,000 businesses worldwide from November 2018 through January 2019, found that a single hour of downtime now costs 98% of firms at least $100,000. And 86% of businesses say that the cost for one hour of downtime is $300,000 or higher; this is up from 76% in 2014 and 81% of respondents in 2018 who said that their company’s hourly downtime losses topped $300,000. Additionally, ITIC’s latest 2019 study indicates that one-in-three organizations – 34% – say the cost of a single hour of downtime can reach $1 million to over $5 million. These statistics are exclusive of any litigation, fines or civil or criminal penalties that may subsequently arise due to lawsuits or regulatory non-compliance issues.

Given organizations’ near-total reliance on systems, networks and applications to conduct business 24 x 7, it’s safe to say that the cost of downtime will continue to increase for the foreseeable future.

Although large enterprises with over one thousand employees may experience the largest actual monetary losses, downtime can be equally devastating to small and mid-sized businesses that typically lack the financial resources of larger firms. A single hour of downtime that occurs during peak usage hours or even a five, 10, 20 or 30 minute outage that disrupts productivity during a critical business transaction, can deal corporations a significant monetary blow, damage their reputation and result in litigation. For SMBs that lack the financial resources of their larger enterprise counterparts, extended downtime could potentially put them out of business.

At the same time, ITIC survey data shows that an 85% majority of corporations now require a minimum of “four nines” of uptime – 99.99% for mission critical hardware, operating systems and main line of business (LOB) applications. This is the equivalent of 52 minutes per server/per annum or 4.33 minutes per server/per month of unplanned downtime. This in an increase of four (4) percentage points from ITIC’s 2017 – 2018 Reliability survey.

The message is clear: in today’s Digital Age of “always on” interconnected networks, businesses demand near-flawless and uninterrupted connectivity to conduct business operations. When the connection is lost, business ceases. This is unacceptable and expensive to all parties.

High reliability, availability and strong security are all imperative in order to conduct business.

Hourly Downtime Costs Rise: 86% of Firms Say One Hour of Downtime Costs $300,000+; 34% of Companies Say One Hour of Downtime Tops $1Million Read More »

IBM Power Systems, Lenovo System x and ThinkSystem, HPE Integrity and Huawei KunLun Top ITIC 2019 Server Reliability Poll

2019, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

ITIC’s 2019 Global Server Hardware and Server OS Reliability Survey finds that for the 11th straight year, the IBM Z and IBM Power Systems achieved the highest server reliability rankings with Lenovo’s System x and Lenovo ThinkSystem servers, delivering the best uptime among all x86 servers for the sixth year in a row. Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) Integrity and Huawei’s KunLun mission critical servers continue to make impressive gains and have also moved up in reliability. 

The ITIC independent annual, Web-based survey polled over 1,000 businesses worldwide from October 2018 through January 2019.  It compared the reliability and availability of 18 different server platforms and one dozen operating system (OS) distributions. To obtain the most accurate and unbiased results, ITIC accepted no vendor sponsorship.

IBM’s Z is in a class of its own: 83% of respondents said their firms achieved five and six nines – 99.999% and 99.9999% – or greater uptime; that’s about 8.8 seconds annually due to inherent flaws in the server or component parts.

Among mainstream servers, IBM POWER8 and IBM POWER9, along with the Lenovo System x and ThinkSystem servers, HPE Integrity; and Huawei’s mission critical KunLun platforms delivered the highest levels of uptime. Each platform averaged just under or approximately two (2) minutes of unplanned per annum/per server downtime due to inherent quality issues involving the server or components like hard disk or memory flaws.

Among the other top survey findings:

  • Availability:The IBM Z and IBM Power Systems, Lenovo’s x86 serverportfolio, HPE Integrity and Huawei KunLunall provided the highest levels of server, application and service availability. That is, when the servers did experience an outage due to an inherent system flaw, they were of the shortest duration – typically one-to-five minutes.
  • Technical Support:Businesses gave high marks to IBM, Lenovo, HPE, Huawei and Dell tech support. Eight-in-10 respondents rated IBM and Lenovo support as “Excellent” or “Very Good.” Only 1% of IBM and Lenovo customers and 3% of HPE and Huawei usersgave those vendors “Poor” or “Unsatisfactory” customer support ratings.
  • Hard Drive Failures Most Common Technical Server Flaw;Faulty hard drives are the chief culprits in inherent server reliability/quality issues (58%) followed by Motherboard issues (43%) and processor problems (38%).
  • IBM, Lenovo and Huawei KunLun Servers Had Fewest Hard Drive Failures:IBM, Lenovo and Huawei’s KunLun platforms experienced the fewest hard drive quality or failure issues among all of the server distributions within the first one, two and three years of service. Less than one percent – 0.4% – of IBM Z, for example, experienced technical problems with their hard drives in the first year of usage, followed by IBM Power Systems and Lenovo System x with one percent (1%) each during the first 12 months of deployment.
  • External Issues Negatively Affect Reliability: End User Carelessness (74%),Human Error (59%) and Security (51%) are the top external causes of downtime and unanticipated reasons for taking servers offline.

IBM and Lenovo executives offered their perspective on the ITIC reliability poll results.

“For our clients, the security and reliability of IBM Z and IBM Power Systems are essential building blocks for high-performance workloads from core banking transactions, to AI and Blockchain,” said Jamie Thomas, General Manager, Strategy and Development, IBM Systems. “As our clients enter Chapter 2 of digital transformation, IBM Systems are best positioned to support the AI and Hybrid Cloud agenda.”

“Uptime and reliability are critical to running efficient data centers. Unplanned downtime often has significant impact to an organization’s bottom line, costing up to $400K per hour,” said Kirk Skaugen, President, Lenovo and Executive Vice President, Lenovo Data Center Group. “For six consecutive years, Lenovo’s x86 servers including the ThinkSystem server portfoliohave received the highest reliability marks – comparable to larger-scale mainframe class competitive systems. The Lenovo ThinkSystem portfolio, paired with ourservices expertise, letsour customers achieve mission critical reliability and security and price/performance from their high-volume x86 systems.”

IBM Power Systems, Lenovo System x and ThinkSystem, HPE Integrity and Huawei KunLun Top ITIC 2019 Server Reliability Poll Read More »

ITIC 2020 Editorial Calendar

2019, 2020, Editorial Calendars / By

March/April 2020: ITIC 2020 Global Server Hardware and Server OS Reliability Survey

Description: Reliability and uptime are absolutely essential. Over 80% of corporations now require a minimum of 99.99% availability and greater; and an increasing number of enterprises now demand five nines – 99.999% or higher reliability. But which platforms actually deliver? This survey polls businesses on the reliability, uptime and management issues involving the inherent reliability of 14 different server hardware platforms and server operating system. The survey polls corporations on the frequency, the duration and reasons associated with Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 outages that occur on their core server OS and server hardware platforms. The results of this independent, non-vendor sponsored survey will provide businesses with the information they need to determine the TCO and ROI of their individual environments. The survey will also enable the server OS and server hardware vendors to see how their products rate among global users ranging from SMBs with as few as 25 people to the largest global enterprises with 100,000+ end users.

The 2020 ITIC Global Reliability Survey has also been updated and expanded to include questions on:

  • Component level failure data comparisons between IBM Power Servers and Intel-based x86 servers such as Dell, HP, Huawei, Lenovo and Cisco.
  • Percentage of component level failure data comparisons by vendor according to age (e.g. new to three months; three to six months; six months to 1 year; 1 to 2 years; 2 to 3 years; 3 to 4 years; 4 to 5 years; over five years).
  • Which component parts fail and frequency of failure
  • A percentage breakout of server parts failures for parts such as hard disk drives(HDD), processors, memory, power components, fans, or other
  • Where available, how the component failed. For example: memory multi-bit errors, HDD read failures, processor L1/L2 cache errors, etc.

 

April/May: 2020 Hourly Cost of Downtime

 Description: Downtime impacts every aspect of the business. It can disrupt operations and end user productivity, result in data losses and raise the risk of litigation. Downtime can also result in lost business and irreparably damage a company’s reputation. The cost of downtime continues to increase as do the business risks. ITIC’s 2019 Hourly Cost of Downtime survey found an 85 % majority of organizations now require a minimum of 99.99% availability. This is the equivalent of 52 minutes of unplanned outages related to downtime for mission critical systems and applications or just 4.33 minutes of unplanned monthly outage for servers, applications and networks. This survey will once again poll corporations on how much one hour of downtime costs their business – exclusive of litigation, civil or criminal penalties. ITIC will also interview customers and vendors across 10 key vertical markets including: Banking/Finance; Education; Government; Healthcare; Manufacturing; Retail; Transportation and Utilities. The Report will focus on the toll that downtime extracts on the business, its IT departments, its employees, its business partners, suppliers and its external customers. This report will also examine the remediation efforts involved in resuming full operations as well as the lingering or after-effects to the corporation’s reputation as the result of an unplanned outage.

 

May/June 2020: ITIC Sexual Harassment, Gender Bias and Pay Equity Survey

 Description:  ITIC’s “Sexual Harassment, Gender Bias and Pay Equity Gap,” independent Web survey polled 1,500 women professionals worldwide across 47 different industries, with a special emphasis on STEM disciplines. The survey focuses on three key areas of workplace discrimination: Sexual Harassment, Gender Bias and Unequal Pay.

 

 

July/August: 2020 IoT Deployment and Usage Trends Survey and Report

 

Description: The Internet of Things (IoT) has been one of the hottest emerging technologies of the last several years. This ITIC Report will present the findings of an ITIC survey that polls corporations on the business and technical challenges as well as the costs associated with IoT deployments. This IoT Report will also examine the ever present security risks associated with interconnected environments and ecosystems. ITIC’s IoT 2020 Deployment and Usage Trends Survey will also query global businesses on a variety of crucial issues related to their current and planned Internet of Things (IoT) usage and deployments such as how  they are using IoT (e.g. on-premises versus Network Edge/Perimeter deployments); the chief benefits and biggest challenges and impediments to IoT upgrades.  Vendors profiled for this report will include: AT&T, Bosch, Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, General Electric (GE), Google, Hitachi, Huawei, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Particle, PTC, Qualcomm,  Samsung, SAP, Siemens and Verizon.

 August: ITIC 2020-2021 Security Trends

 Description: Security, security, security! Security impacts every aspect of computing and networking operations in the Digital Age. And it’s never been more crucial as businesses, schools, government workers and consumers are working at home amidst the ongoing Nouvel and damaging security hack impacting the lives of millions of consumers and corporations. This Report will utilize the latest ITIC independent survey data to provide an overview of the latest trends in computer security including the latest and most dangerous hacks and what corporations can do to defend their data assets. Among the topics covered:

 

  • Security threats in the age of COVID-19
  • The most prevalent type of security hacks
  • The percentage of corporations that experienced a security hack
  • The duration of the security hack
  • The severity of the security hack
  • The cost of the security hack
  • Monetary losses experienced due to security breaches
  • Lost, damaged, destroyed or stolen data due to a security breach
  • The percentage of time that corporations spend securing their networks and data assets
  • Specific security policies and procedures companies are implementing
  • The issues that pose the biggest threats/risks to corporate security

 

August/September: ITIC 2020 Global Server Hardware Server OS Reliability Survey Mid-Year Update

Description: This Report is the Mid-year update of ITIC’s Annual Global Server Hardware, Server OS Reliability Survey. Each year ITIC conducts a second survey of selected questions from its Annual Reliability poll. ITIC also conducts new interviews with C-level executives and Network administrators to get detailed insights on the reliability of their server hardware and operating system software as well as the technical service and support they receive from their respective vendors.  ITIC will also incorporate updated PowerPoint slides and statistics to accompany the report.

 

October/November: AI, Machine Learning and Data Analytics Market Outlook

Description: This Report will examine the pivotal role that AI, Machine Learning and IoT-enabled predictive and prescriptive Analytics plays in assisting businesses sort through the data deluge to make informed decisions and derive real business value from their applications. AI and Machine Learning take Data Analytics to new levels. They can help businesses identify new product opportunities and also uncover hidden risks. Machine intelligence is already built into predictive and prescriptive analytics tools, speeding insights and enabling the analysis of vast probabilities to determine an optimal course of action or the best set of options. Over time, more sophisticated forms of AI will find their way into analytics systems, further improving the speed and accuracy of decision-making. Rather than querying a system and waiting for a response, the trend has been toward interactivity using visual interfaces. In the near future, voice interfaces will become more common, enabling humans to carry on interactive conversations with digital assistants while watching the analytical results on a screen. Analytics makes businesses more efficient; it enables them to cut costs and lower ongoing operational expenditures. It also helps them respond more quickly and agilely to changing market conditions – making them more competitive and thus driving top line revenue in both the near term and long term strategic sales. Vendors Profiled: AppDynamics, BMC, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and SAS. It also discusses how non-traditional vendors in the carrier and networking segments e.g. Dell/EMC, GE, Google, Verizon and Vodafone have fully embraced AIOps and analytics via partnerships, acquisitions and Research and Development (R&D) initiatives and have moved into this space and challenged the traditional market leaders. And it will provide an overview of the latest Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and their impact on the Analytics industry.

 December: ITIC 2021 Technology and Business Outlook

 Description: This Report will be based on ITIC survey results that poll IT administrators and C-level executives on a variety of forward looking business and technology issues for the 2020 timeframe. Topics covered will include: Security, IT staffing and budgets; application and network infrastructure upgrades; hardware and software purchasing trends and cloud computing.

Survey Methodology

 

ITIC conducts independent Web-based surveys that contain multiple choice and essay questions. In order to ensure the highest degree of accuracy, we employ authentication and tracking mechanisms to prohibit tampering with the survey results and to prohibit multiple votes by the same party. ITIC conducts surveys with corporate enterprises in North America and in over 25 countries worldwide across a wide range of vertical markets. Respondents range from SMBs with 25 to 100 workers to the largest multinational enterprises with over 100,000 employees. Each Report also includes two dozen first person customer interviews and where applicable, vendor and reseller interviews. The titles of the survey respondents include:

 

  • Network administrators
  • VPs of IT
  • Chief information officers (CIOs)
  • Chief technology officers (CTOs)
  • Chief executive officers (CEOs)
  • Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs)
  • Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs)
  • Consultants
  • Application developers
  • Database Administrators
  • Telecom Manager
  • Software Developer
  • System Administrator
  • IT Architect
  • Physical Plant Facilities Manager
  • Operations Manager
  • Technical Lead
  • Cloud Managers/Specialists
  • IoT Manager
  • Server Hardware/Virtualization Manager

 

 

ITIC welcomes input and suggestion from its vendor and enterprise clients with respect to surveys, survey questions and topics for its Editorial Calendar. If there are any particular topics or questions in a specific survey that you’d like to see covered, please let us know and we will do our best to address it.

 

 

About Information Technology Intelligence Corporation (ITIC)

 

ITIC, founded in 2002, is a research and consulting firm based in suburban Boston. It provides primary research on a wide variety of technology topics for vendors and enterprises. ITIC’s mission is to provide its clients with tactical, practical and actionable advice and to help clients make sense of the technology and business events that influence and impact their infrastructures and IT budgets. ITIC can provide your firm with accurate, objective research on a wide variety of technology topics within the network infrastructure: application software, server hardware, networking, virtualization, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Security (e.g. ransom ware, cyber heists, phishing scams, botnets etc.). ITIC also addresses the business issues that impact the various technologies and influence the corporate business purchasing decisions. These include topics such as licensing and contract negotiation; GDPR; Intellectual Property (IP); patents, outsourcing, third party technical support and upgrade/migration planning.

 

To purchase or license ITIC Reports and Survey data contact: Fred Abbott

Email: fhabbott@valleyviewventures.com;

Valley View Ventures, Inc.

Phone: 978-254-1639

www.valleyviewventures.com

ITIC 2020 Editorial Calendar Read More »

KnowBe4 Survey: 64% of Corporate Users Say Security Awareness Training Stops Hacks

2018, 2019, ITIC Reports & Surveys / By

A new security survey finds that two-thirds of corporate users – 64% — assert that proactive Security Awareness Training helps their businesses to identify and thwart hacks immediately upon deployment. And, an 86% majority of corporations say Security Awareness Training (SAT) decreased overall security risks and educated employees to the ever-present danger posed by cyber security scams.

Those are the findings of the KnowBe4 “2018 Security Awareness Training Deployment and Trends Survey.”  This annual, independent Web-based survey polled 1,100 organizations worldwide during August and September 2018. The independent study conducted by KnowBe4, a Tampa, Florida-based maker of security training and phishing tools, queried corporations on the leading security threats and challenges facing their firms as cyber security attacks increase and intensify.

ITIC partnered with KnowBe4 on this study which also polled businesses on the initiatives they’re taking to more proactively combat the growing diversified and targeted cyber threats. The survey found that 88% of respondents currently deploy (SAT) tools. The businesses report that the training plays a pivotal role in identifying and thwarting attacks; minimizing risk and positively changing the employee culture.

Among the other top survey findings:

  • Social Engineering was the top cause of attacks, cited by 77% of respondents, followed by Malware (44%); User Error (27%) and a combination of the above (19%) and Password attacks (17%). (See Exhibit 1).
  • Some 84% of respondents said their businesses could quantify the decrease in successful Social Engineering attacks (e.g. Phishing scams, malware, Zero Day etc.) after deploying SAT to their end users after just a few simulated exercises. This is based on 700 anecdotal responses obtained from the Essay comments and first person interviews.
  • On average, respondents reported that Social Engineering cyber hacks like Phishing scams and Malware declined significantly from a success rate of 40% to 50% to zero to five percent after firms participated in several KnowBe4 SAT sessions.
  • Almost three-quarters – 71% of survey participants – indicate their businesses proactively conduct simulated Phishing attacks on a monthly, quarterly or weekly basis.
  • An overwhelming 96% of respondents affirmed that deploying SAT changed their firm’s computer security culture for the better, making everyone from C-level executives to knowledge workers more cognizant of cyber threats.

Introduction

In the 21st century Digital Age corporations can no longer practice security with 20/20 hindsight.

Complacency and ignorance regarding the security of the corporation’s data assets will almost certainly lead to disaster. Not a day goes by without a major new cyber hack reported.

Threats are everywhere. And no organization is immune.

Hackers are sophisticated, bold and hone in on specific targets. The hacks themselves are more prolific, pervasive and pernicious.

The current computing landscape includes virtualization, private, public and hybrid cloud computing, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies are designed to facilitate faster, more efficient communication and better economies of scale by interconnecting machines, devices, applications and people.

The downside: increasing inter-connectivity among devices, applications and people produces a “target rich environment.”  Simply put, there are many more vulnerabilities and potential entry points into the corporate network. IT and security administrators have many more things to manage and they can’t possibly have eyes on everything. Oftentimes, the company’s end users pose the biggest security threat by unknowingly clicking on bad links. But even so-called “trusted” sources like supposedly secure third party service providers, business partners or even internal company executives can unwittingly be the weak links that enable surreptitious entry into the corporate networks.

The ubiquitous nature and myriad types of threats, further heightens security risks and significantly raises the danger that every organization – irrespective of size or vertical market – will be a target. The accelerated pace of new Cyber security heists via Social Engineering, (e.g. Phishing scams, malware, Password attacks, Zero Day, etc.), makes the IT Security administrator’s job extremely daunting.

Fortunately, there is help in the form of Security Awareness Training which immediately assists organizations in educating employees from the C-suite to the Mail room and transforming the corporate culture from one that is lax, to one that is alert and vigilant.

Data & Analysis

Computer and network security has all too often been practiced with 20/20 hindsight. That is, organizations have been lax in implementing and enforcing strong Computer Security Policies.

The KnowBe4 2018 Security Awareness Training Deployment and Trends Survey results indicate a majority of companies recognize the increasing danger posed by myriad pervasive and pernicious cyber threats. Businesses are also acutely aware that Security and IT managers and administrators cannot possibly have “eyes on everything,” as the size, scope and complexity of their respective infrastructures increases along with the number of interconnected people, devices, applications and systems.  Hence, companies are now proactively assuming responsibility for safeguarding their data.

SAT is a cost effective and expeditious mechanism for heightening user awareness — from the C-Suite to the average worker – of the multiple security threats facing organizations.

Among the other survey highlights:

  • Among businesses victimized by Social Engineering, some 70% of respondents cited Email as the root cause. This is mainly due to end users clicking without thinking and falling prey to a wide range of scams such as Phishing, malware and Zero Day hacks. Another 15% of respondents said they were “Unsure” which is extremely concerning.
  • An 88% majority of respondents currently employ Security Awareness Training Programs and six percent plan to install one within six months.
  • An 86% majority of Security Awareness Training Programs conduct simulated Phishing attacks and that same percentage – 86% – firms randomize their simulated Phishing attacks.
  • Some 71% of respondents that deploy KnowBe4’s Security Awareness Training said their firms had not been hacked in the last 12 months vs. 29% that said their companies were successfully penetrated (even for a short while before being detected and removed).
  • Survey respondents apply Security Awareness Training programs in a comprehensive manner to ensure the best possible outcomes. Asked to “select all” the mechanisms they use in their SAT programs: 74% said they use Email; 71% employ videos, 43% of businesses said they use Human Trainers; 36% send out Newsletters and 27% engage in seminars/Webinars with third parties.

Overall,  the results of the Web-based survey coupled with over two dozen first person interviews conducted by KnowBe4 and ITIC found that Security Awareness Training yields positive outcomes and delivers near immediate Return on Investment (ROI). Approximately two-thirds of the respondents indicated that the training helped their companies to identify and thwart security hacks within the last six months. The participants said security awareness training helped to alert their firms to a potential vulnerability  and allowed them to block the threat. And it also enabled security and IT administrators and users to recognize rogue code and quickly remove it before it could cause damage. Another 20% of those polled claimed their firms had not experienced any hacks in the last six months.

All in all, in this day and age of heightened security and cyber threats, organizations are well advised to proactively safeguard their organizations by implementing Security Awareness Training for their administrators and end users to defend their data assets. For more information, go to: www.knowbe4.com.

 

 

KnowBe4 Survey: 64% of Corporate Users Say Security Awareness Training Stops Hacks Read More »

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