Research Findings Show Industry Leaders Struggle to Balance Digital Innovation and Security

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the world’s largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, today released data noting how companies are struggling with the tug-of-war between advancing digital innovation and ensuring secure digital experiences that maintain user trust and mitigate risk. As part of a commissioned study of more than 350 global information technology leaders conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Akamai, the results also show that the companies defined as being the most digitally mature -- best balancing innovation and security-- grow faster than their competitors.

As the world’s largest and most trusted cloud delivery platform, Akamai has delivered approximately 95 exabytes of data a year across billions of devices. Top financial institutions, online retailers, media and entertainment providers, and government organizations have leveraged the power of Akamai’s cloud platform to deliver exceptional digital experiences to customers. As a result, Akamai has seen firsthand the critical intersection of user experience and digital security, and how it ultimately impacts customer behavior.

“With the help of this research by Forrester, Akamai has created a way to evaluate how digitally mature a company is, based both on the effectiveness of its digital experience and the strength of its security posture,” said Ari Weil, vice president of product marketing, Akamai. “It is imperative for these innovators to strike a delicate balance between seamless digital experience and comprehensive security. We think our research shows how companies are achieving, or struggling to reach, that balance, and Akamai is ready to help usher any organization along a path to digital maturity.”

Those interested in getting a jumpstart on your own digital maturity initiative can click here for a self-assessment to determine how well a company balances digital experience delivery with digital security. Following the assessment, check out this infographic on best practices for delivering digital experiences.

Digital innovation sits at the helm of today’s complex enterprise environment. The Forrester study indicates that delivery of digital experiences is critical to competitive edge, customer satisfaction and even more importantly -- achieving customer trust. For any given enterprise organization, meeting unique customer needs is a challenge -- addressing disparate regions, network connectivity and device usage has complicated the ability to deliver secure, personalized digital experiences. The study examines how digital businesses across the globe and various industries align overall user experience and security with strategic priorities.

Findings from the survey research include:

• Digital struggles are a reality: A high number of executives reported difficulty in achieving the proper balance between security and digital experiences. Most respondents feel as though their firm is strongest in security and trust, but weakest in digital experience maturity.
• Trust is at an all-time low: More than one third of surveyed executives feel they only have a moderate level of trust from their customers, due in large part to suspicion around a company’s data use practices.
• Lack of trust attributed to lack of security, equates to lack of revenue: Customers are more comfortable sharing data with companies they actually trust; when firms fail to deliver on security, their brand reputation, customer trust and even revenue are negatively impacted. In fact, the study notes that even suspicion of a company’s data use practices can lead to a 25 percent reduction in revenues.

To learn more about Forrester’s analysis into how industry leaders balance digital experience with customer trust, download the full study here.