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In the past 6 months, cybercrime has become a worldwide crisis.
An insightful report published by Compari Tech has revealed that:
Over 86.2% of organizations have been compromised by at least one cyber attack.
Once every 1.2 seconds, someone’s device is successfully corrupted.
The average cost for businesses to recover from ransomware has risen to $1.5 billion.
Mounting threats originating from Russia have already significantly impacted hundreds of organizations, and business owners are becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of their customers, employees, and general operations.
At face value, the rising number of cyber threats has created an immense opportunity for IT security providers to expand their services and scale their revenue… but, when you delve deeper, there are some complications.
Barriers to Growth in the Cyber Security Industry
Business development has never been easy. Even in a market with high consumer demand, cyber security companies are struggling to grow.
1) Misperceptions
Although business owners are certainly getting smarter about prioritizing cyber security, they are still common misperceptions that are stopping them from taking the leap and investing in services. Until recently, many small to medium enterprises believed that only large organizations could be at risk from cybercrime. As the news reports have revealed, this is not the case.
2) Budget vs Expectations
For businesses who have already taken precautions to minimise their risk of a successful cyber attack, there is still a big source of miscommunication. Finance teams aren’t yet “up to date” with the threat posed by malware and ransomware, and many in-house cyber security professionals have reported a divide between the budget they are provided with and the expectations of their employer.
3) Talent Shortages
Across the world, the need for cyber security professionals increased by 30% in 2021 (Source: Marketplace). As it stands, the number of qualified talent entering the market annually is significantly lower than demand. This means that cyber security businesses are going to struggle to expand the number of clients they serve, restricting their growth significantly.
4) Growth Management
Today, the cyber security industry is growing at a CAGR of 10.1% per year (Source: PR News Wire). This is creating a competitive and agile market that requires businesses to be continuously agile, innovative, and open to change. In 2022, though, cyber security providers will be unable to sustain this level of growth across their organization without the right tools in place.
The Need For A “Growth Outlook”
Therefore, if cyber security firms want to take advantage of the growing demand for their services, and actively execute a successful growth strategy, there is some work to be done.
In order for employees and customers to be supported through this period of change, companies are going to have to adopt a growth outlook.
What is a Growth Outlook?
The concept of a growth outlook is closely aligned with the idea of continuous improvement.
Ultimately, it suggests that growth isn’t simply about bigger revenue or profits - it’s also about:
Building team relationships.
Giving employees the chance to learn new skills.
Changing how your business operates in order to increase efficiency.
The ability to absorb and respond to crises.
How Does this Relate to the Cyber Security Industry?
As cyber threats continue to rise, cyber security as a service is changing.
Clients now rely on the proper function of hundreds of software applications and technical devices, so they are calling for more involvement from their IT providers. They live in fear of a potential data breach, and need reassurance that they are taking all the right precautions.
Therefore, cyber security organizations need to adapt how they interact with their clients, answer these demands, and develop ongoing solutions to the issues many business owners are facing.
It all starts with their growth outlook.
How to Build A Growth Outlook
Throughout the rest of 2022, it seems cyber security companies need to have one priority:
Anticipating the advancing needs of their clients.
For them to continue providing the best service possible, they need every department of their business to be on board with the ongoing changes in the market.
Step 1: Fund Growth
The most important part of a growth outlook is ensuring the right resources are being funelled into the right places.
Profits should be reinvested into the company.
Employee wellbeing and talent retention should become a number 1 priority.
Software should be adopted to increase efficiency.
Step 2: Set Goals
Much like with any other element of a growth strategy, clear (SMART) goals need to be set. For the growth outlook specifically, these goals need to be made clear to employees at all levels.
First, create goals for different departments and set milestones.
Second, communicate these targets through an internal communications strategy.
Then, measure your progress and identify weaknesses.
You might decide to develop a new comprehensive security service where your analysts first review the state of a client’s cybersecurity, and then your advisors move forward to provide insights on how to solve these issues.
Step 3: Train Staff
An important part of a growth outlook is your Human Resource Management. Maximising on the cybersecurity industry’s forecasted growth wouldn’t be possible without the employees in place to deliver your services.
If you want to achieve your goals, you need to start providing training to your employees immediately.
Where possible, educate staff to increase productivity, and give talent the chance to progress their career. Additionally, give staff members the opportunity to develop their customer service skills so they can be consultants and analysts for your clients as well as IT technicians.
Step 4: Recruit Extensively
To truly achieve a growth outlook, you need to start building high-quality teams by recruiting qualified and professional candidates.
Your previous approach to recruitment likely isn’t enough to compete in today’s booming cyber security climate, and you may need to work with specialist cyber security recruiters such as Xcede to fill the gaps.
About Xcede
Xcede are global recruitment specialists who source employees for a range of dynamic job positions, selecting the top talent for every single one of our clients looking to fill employee gaps in technology. Our dedication to finding experienced candidates with the right qualifications allows businesses to foster growth and continue scaling.
