IT Professionals Fear Security Breach Could Cost Them Their Jobs, According to Recent Survey

Survey Provides New Data on Gaps in Security Effectiveness

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – April 30, 2007 – KACE, the leading provider of systems management and deployment appliances for the Fortune 100,000, today announced the results from a recent study completed by market research firm King Research that reveals the majority of IT professionals working in Fortune 100,000 or mid-sized companies are concerned they will lose their jobs in the event of a security breach. Further, most of these organizations feel they are ill prepared when it comes to systems and security management and they are not confident with their present security measures. The survey also revealed systems management activities are applied inconsistently in the security strategies of most Fortune 100,000 companies. For example, although 81 percent included patch management as part of their security strategy, only 35 percent of responding participants included end-node vulnerability scanning.

The research, consisting of an online survey with 256 respondents, of which 156 were from Fortune 100,000 organizations, was commissioned by KACE. The purpose of the survey was to gather data on IT professionals’ approach to unifying systems and security management, to identify the types of management tools companies use, and to measure their current state of security readiness.

With the growing complexity of managing end-node (desktop and laptop) computers and the constant threat of security breaches to businesses, IT organizations can’t afford to sit idle. This is especially concerning for the Fortune 100,000 market who typically have limited staffing resources.

“IT departments around the globe are working endlessly to combat and minimize security issues,” said Diane Hagglund of King Research. “But even with the wide range of tools these organizations have invested in, there are still security gaps. Few IT professionals, those from the mid-market sector in particular, feel equipped to deal with lost corporate or personal data, and most don’t include end-node vulnerability scanning as part of their on-going security strategies. Vendors such as KACE address key challenges by bringing IT automation at a very affordable cost.”

A summary of the major findings include:

  • 73 percent of Fortune 100,000 market IT professionals are concerned they may lose their jobs in the event of a major security breach.
  • 62 percent of participants who are personally responsible for IT security report that responsibility affects them in a personal way.
  • Systems management activities are applied inconsistently in the security strategies of most mid-market companies, only 35 percent of participants included end-node vulnerability scanning, although 81 percent included patch management as part of their security strategy.
  • 87 percent of IT organizations are confident in their ability to deal with viruses, spam, spyware, and malware, but only 35 percent feel they are equipped to deal with lost corporate or personal data.
  • Fortune 100,000 IT organizations report a large number of disparate user-interfaces (six on average) in use for systems and security management, which creates challenges in learning and using the tools effectively.
  • Use of a single user-interface for all end-node systems and security management is perceived as useful by mid-market IT teams, with 69 percent of participants citing increased efficiency as the most important benefit.

The full report is available at http://www.kace.com/infocenter.

“The results are in and they prove that IT professionals from Fortune 100,000 companies are not confident with their present security measures, and are taking the stress home with them to their personal lives,” said Rob Meinhardt, CEO of KACE. “The discomfort these professionals are feeling about their security measures is actually an opportunity for us -- the KBOX family of appliances are designed with the challenges revealed by the King Research survey in mind. KACE can help IT professionals sleep easier at night, knowing their systems are secure and available, thanks to our technology’s easy-to-use and affordable automated systems and security management capabilities.”

Survey Methodology
An independent database of IT professionals from small, mid-sized, and large organizations were emailed and invited to participate in the Web survey in February 2007. The 256 participants were not compensated for participation, and represented a wide range of IT functions including hands-on professionals, team managers, and business owners with many participants indicating they had multiple roles within their organization.

About KACE™
KACE™, a privately held technology company, is the leader in IT automation appliances. The award winning KBOX™ family of appliances delivers easy-to-use, comprehensive IT automation that is affordable and really work. The KBOX™ 1000 Series Systems Management Appliances automate routine and complex IT maintenance tasks for end-point nodes on a network. The KBOX™ 2000 Series Systems Deployment Appliances provide centralized provisioning and remote system recovery. KACE is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about KACE and its product offerings, please visit http://www.kace.com or call 1-888-522-3638.

Editorial Contact:
Cathy Wright
Kulesa PR
650-340-1985
cathy@kulesapr.com