IT security budgets lower than average in 45% of SMBs and 50% of enterprises

According to statistics from the Kaspersky IT Security Calculator, budgets at 45% of SMBs and 50% of enterprises are below the average spend — which is $205k for small and medium and $8m for enterprise businesses. This is even though cybersecurity spending is growing year-on-year with almost 9% growth in 2019, according to Gartner report.

Kaspersky IT Security Calculator shows what budget and company profile users want compare with market average

Knowing how much money is spent on IT security across the industry allows companies to understand where they are in the market, to compare their budget with other players and even improve planning. The Kaspersky IT Security Calculator helps businesses receive these insights. It is a free web tool where IT security managers can view the average budget for cybersecurity in their region and industry and compare this to budgets in their organization.

Globally, IT security budgets are demonstrating positive dynamics: as a number of analyst reports show, they continue to grow year on year. Kaspersky’s own survey of almost five thousand organizations across the world confirms this trend with 70% of respondents showing they expect their IT security budget to increase in the next three years.

However, statistics from usage of the Kaspersky IT Security Calculator in October 2018- 2019 revealed that some businesses are not keeping up with this trend, as their IT security spending is even lower than average. This is seen in 45% of calculations for SMBs and 50% for enterprise users of the tool.

Overall, budgets for SMBs were reviewed more actively (46%) than for enterprises (38%) and very small companies (16%). For small and medium businesses the budget issue can be even more complicated: it’s not only about money but also about the alignment of the budget planning process. It can be challenging because of demands on human resources and expertise in relevant cybersecurity risks and protection methods for different business services.

“Budget planning is a very important process for companies as proper investments ensure a company is ready to meet current cybersecurity challenges and threats. Though it may be a complex task which demands a good understanding of business needs towards cybersecurity, how to address them and how much it can cost,” commented Sergey Martsynkyan, Head of B2B Product Marketing, Kaspersky.

“We at Kaspersky try to give organizations insights to help them with this process. Along with the report on IT security economics we prepare annually, the IT Security Calculator gives a glance on average cybersecurity spending, as well as specific threats and advice on protection measures,” said Sergey.