With strict cybersecurity rules in place, creativity and efficiency may be stifled, according to one study by a cybersecurity firm.
New products developed by enterprises often do not succeed.
For example, Nintendo’s Virtual Boy game console that was designed to incorporate VR—and the Nike FuelBand fitness tracker—are both high-profile examples. As the failure of some industrial giants’ DX units showed, a transformation of internal processes does not always yield desired results, either.
Furthermore, the failure of already-publicly launched projects is just the tip of the iceberg. According to a study by Kaspersky in which 304 senior decision makers with an involvement in innovation were surveyed, the development stage is considered to be most challenging across the ‘innovation lifecycle’. Notably, this was confirmed by only a third (36%) of respondents based on their experience.
Is cybersecurity to blame?
According to this cybersecurity-focused research, 95% of heads of innovations in enterprises globally admitted that their projects often failed before launch. Many of these innovations did not even make it past development stage (36%). Supposedly, a lack of cooperation with IT Security departments also increased the likelihood that a project may never be released.
For most enterprises, the main reason for unsuccessful innovations was the lack of a clear plan and structure in place (19%). It means that the ability to execute is as important as coming up with a brilliant idea, in order to transform a valuable insight into a profitable and plausible solution. Once a roadmap is established, it is also worth regularly-reviewing it to keep up with competitor activity, market trends and industry fluctuations.
Certainly, cybersecurity was not listed among the top reasons why projects failed. Nevertheless, when research is conducted to find a link, expectation and confirmation bias has a way to creep in. In this study, there was a shared belief (74%) that not having a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) early in the process increased the likelihood that their innovation could not be successful. This could be due to an inability to adapt projects to strict cybersecurity rules, with more than half (54%) believing that IT security policy in their company stifled innovation.
Separating wheat from chaff
Commented Alexander Moiseev, Chief Business Officer, Kaspersky: “For a business to innovate, it should take risks and be ready to go through some failures in the process as well, as these are inevitable when you are looking into something really new. However, there are still some practical steps that can be taken to make sure that an emerging technology or a product reaches its launch.”
According to Kaspersky, cybersecurity does not have to be another corporate barrier, but it should be on an integral part of projects. “Make sure to keep the CISO in the loop early on when planning the next technological breakthrough for your company,” Moiseev said.
While increasing cybersecurity threats do mandate strong cyber resilience and vigilance, it is still a stretch to pin IT and cybersecurity to massive innovation failures.
As a side note, we urge readers to read and interpret study results with a critical mind and a pinch of the proverbial salt.
This in no way casts aspersion on the intent and spirit of marketing and PR organizations, but it does signal a new communications normal that demands strict diligence for media and research communities to maintain digital honesty, objectivity and trust.
