Why Can Application Security Be Considered A Enabler For Business?

If you ask Alex, he won’t admit being old-fashioned. He has
been working in the IT industry for a while now and accepts that
security is important for the business’s health. But reluctant to
take security as the business enabler.

In today’s environment, moving to digitization is a critical
step required to drive innovation and business growth. When the
application development takes the driver seat, security stalls the
progress by saying NO to many things on the highway. — Is what he
says.

At that point, my friend Daniel got involved and argued that
application security is no longer optional to our business as we
rely on apps for our day-to-day activities.
And, he added a powerful quote:

Businesses will less likely advance if they don’t have security
(brakes) to do safely. The car’s speed obtains improvement with
brakes – the improvements to business are the improvement to the
security.

Alex wants more direct links to prove Daniel’s claim. Let’s go
through what Daniel has confronted and figure out whether the
Application Security is, in reality, the growth enabler.

Daniel — Not just you Alex, still few business owners
project a negative image of the security within the business.

According to the IDC
report^[1], while 56% of management
views security as an enabler, 27% are still considering it as
Blocker for simply working towards employee retention and customer
satisfaction.

Image source: IDC

But this is an improvement in the year 2017 when only 53% viewed it
as an enabler.

Why is Application Security a Business Enabler?

Alex, application
security^[2] is often discussed in
terms of security breaches, business disruption, and regulatory
fines. The opportunities are seldom highlighted.

For instance, effective security makes it feasible for
businesses to innovate, which drives profit, growth, and revenue.
Securing against cyberattacks can provide genuine benefits for SMEs
and lead to valuable organizations.

Alex — How could you demonstrate the value besides risks
management optimization?

Well, Alex, this aligns with the Data from the survey of IDC – Harnessing
Identity Position Security Business Enabler^[3]:

Image source: IDC

Competitive Advantage

Everything is connected to the internet. The hyper-connectivity,
IoT, and customer demand businesses to use applications. Apps
bridge the connection of business with the network, mobile,
peripheral, and wired devices.

They enable us to collect information and offer ease of use for
employees and consumers, making a great difference.

In this age of competitive choice, customers rarely possess the
same brand loyalty once they did. Customers prefer companies, which
understand the security status of their application.

As such, application security addresses the following business
goals:

• Product Brand Image – by preventing leaks and projecting
  security
• Reduce Risk – Considering those from 3rd parties
• Protect & safeguard Data – both customer and enterprise
  data
• Protect and enhance customer confidence – Effective
  customer experience drives competition
• Enhance Trust from an investor, customers, and lenders –
  eliminating risks, boosts trust of all parties

For any business, image, trust, and risks are the most key topics,
which require attention. Application security covers them all.

You know, 71% of CEOs consider information security as a source
of competitive advantage, according to
KPMG^[4].

This reflects a spectacular change given what they’ve heard in
the past report, where CEOs largely stated security to measure risk
mitigation.

Improve Productivity with Mobile Employees

Alex, in this new world of wireless, the mobile workforce becomes
the new norm. Mobile devices are unleashing collaboration and
productivity in the workforce, particularly for the 80% of workers
who don’t want to sit behind the desk every day.

Companies building strong security behind their application
infrastructure, empower the workforce to access resources without
compromising security.

• Profitability – reduce operating expense
• Productivity – application access anywhere, anytime

The app stores filled with modern apps prove its advertised
usefulness.

Supporting digital transformation initiatives

Cisco’s
survey^[5] of C-level executives
disclosed that 69% of respondents stated digital transformation is
vital to their company’s growth strategy. Among them, 64% realized
that security was the significant driver of the digitization.

With a strong application security stance, enterprises could
confidently drive the success of their digital transformation and
obtain new opportunities.

The digital transformation has given significant changes, new
processes were created, new methodologies were made, and all are
aimed at ensuring faster delivery of safer digital products to the
customers.

The application security integrated into the core app platform
automates the major security process, workflows, and tasks to
enhance accuracy, response time, and standardization.

Implementing strong security measures facilitates businesses to
deliver applications without being slowed down or compromised.

Enterprises that have invested in security will be able to
continue performance and operations – a significant advantage over
those trapped unpreparedly by a cyberthreat.

In the journey of cloud adoption

Security though a key concern, it is not preventing businesses from
reaping the advantages of cloud computing. I hope you agree with
this. Cloud adoption gives business speed they need and with a
shared responsibility model to manage security risks (AWS-Shared
Responsibility model^[6]).

Over these last few years, cloud computing resources have
evolved into a thriving IT supermarket of processing storage,
capacity, apps, and a wide range of automated tasks (security,
networking & system maintenance), all provided “as a service” by
3rd party vendors.

A report of
Oracle^[7] reveals that 48% of
businesses believe that enforcing better security policies will
increase cloud adoption.

With the right application security solutions and controls in
place, businesses are riding the Cloud.

Alex — Thank you, Daniel, Now I Agree – Application
security can actually be an enabler for business. I understand
perfectly why now. But, how do I secure my application, hire the
skill set, and, more importantly, have the time to do this?

Daniel — You are spot on, and this is a specialized skill
set, and it is better to partner with experts who not just provide
security products but also include management of security lifecycle
in sync with your web application lifecycle as an integral part of
their offering. You may want to look at services like AppTrana from
Induface who provide a Risk-based managed Security for web
applications.

Alex — Risk-Based Managed Security? Can you explain
more

Daniel — Get visibility of your application risks before
hackers find and exploit them. You have to take care of only your
applications and hence can do it more frequently on a continuous
basis with on-demand Application
Security scanning^[8]
and Manual Penetration testing services and at least get visibility
into your risks before hackers do. As part of the managed service,
they will also fix it and protect you from exploiting those
vulnerabilities instantly with their Managed Cloud WAF. You can
launch new applications and services and use them to provide
security risk visibility, protection, and management
continuously.

Alex — Thanks, I will take a look.

Unquestionably, the points mentioned above prove that
application security can create a positive return by supporting us
to be better at what we do, innovate faster, and give us the edge
in the competitive market.

Partnering with companies like Indusface with their AppTrana^[9] Managed Cloud WAF
offering ensures you can get started fast without having to wait to
build the expertise and find the time.

Get Positioned for Success!

It’s time for businesses to begin thinking about their application
security program as a growth enabler that adds value and ensures
efficiency. This view can only support when you align security
culture with core business goals like brand image, customer
retention, and profitability.