Securing Digital Transformation: An Imperative For Business Success
Digital transformation didn't just surge during Covid—it's become a fundamental and continuous process for organizations seeking to remain relevant in today's dynamic business landscape. Companies need to adapt and evolve in real time, and the majority of them are firmly in the midst of this transition right now. In 2025, the adoption rate continues, with over 94% of organizations engaging in various digital initiatives, emphasizing the pervasive nature of digitization across all industries.
Despite prioritizing the adoption of new technology to drive these transformations, 58% of organizations still face weekly disruptions due to flaws in their legacy systems, with 8 in 10 organizations struggling to keep up with the pace of change.
Amid these challenges, security solutions can be perceived as adding another layer of complexity. However, now is the time to underscore how security programs can move beyond risk mitigation to become a proactive driver of digital transformation.
This requires a shift in mindset throughout organizations, including redefining the approach to successful digital transformation, reassessing the role of security in this process and ensuring that CISOs align security goals more closely with business objectives.
From a practical standpoint, digital transformation requires every company, regardless of its traditional industry, to function like a software development entity to maintain competitiveness. This involves the modernization of technology, including the migration to public and private clouds. Yet, many companies have shifted to the cloud without first developing a deep understanding of their data landscape, i.e., the volume, sensitivity, regulatory requirements and access patterns. Some might advocate for an "all-in" approach to cloud migration; however, what if, at the end, they discover the migration isn't the right fit?
Not all clouds are created equal, which adds a layer of complexity—some excel in data, some in product and some on the enterprise backend. As such, it is crucial for companies to have an overarching cloud adoption strategy with checkpoints and evaluations, rather than waiting until the end of a long migration to realize it's not suitable.
This includes implementing a comprehensive plan for how different cloud environments will work together, including the orchestration needed to integrate and automate processes. Keeping security in mind at every step can act as a conduit to success.
Adopting a "security-first" mentality is paramount for organizations on their digital transformation journey. Key principles of IT security, such as control and repeatability, can drive the implementation of scalable and repeatable software solutions that ultimately benefit the entire business. This fosters more controlled and standardized environments by requiring organizations to establish secure foundations during the initial phases of modernization. We see this specifically within DevSecOps, which integrates security throughout the software development lifecycle.
It also helps prioritize which systems or applications need to be modernized first based on factors like criticality and vulnerability. For example, during cloud migration, security teams need to establish identity and access management, data encryption and network security configurations for those specific applications before moving on to others.
Complete visibility into all data in motion is also crucial. When combining network-derived telemetry (packets, flows, metadata) with MELT (metric, event, log and trace) data, organizations gain the deep observability of today's complex environments. It provides comprehensive, real-time insights into hybrid cloud infrastructure and all the diverse categories of assets an organization can have.
Overall, this enhances security coverage while enabling more accurate and informed business decisions. However, it's imperative that CISOs be able to showcase how the intersection of security and business success can yield better results for all stakeholders.
By aligning security objectives with business goals, CISOs can position security as a value center rather than a cost center. They do so by showcasing how security efforts contribute to tangible business outcomes, such as cost savings, efficiency gains and improved scalability. For CISOs looking to expand their influence across the board and demonstrate value beyond traditional security, I recommend the following key tips:
• Drive value with numbers. Aim to present the executive team with concrete data and clear evidence of the value generated by security initiatives. For example, legacy systems require continuous upkeep to patch and upgrade. That said, by building security automation into new platforms, teams can save hours a week, allowing organizations to reinvest that time into innovation, product improvements and other revenue-driving activities.
• Showcase security's role in contract renewals. Highlight to the board how security expertise can be applied to broader business challenges that can typically hinder contract renewals. For example, enhancing processes through stronger security controls illustrates how security measures (like identity and access management) can lead to improved data accuracy, better business intelligence and the prevention of revenue loss.
• Establish ongoing communication with the board. Provide regular updates on security improvements and their impact on the organization. This is critical for maintaining the board's support and emphasizes the value of security investments. Even brief, biannual updates can highlight the positive impact of security initiatives across various parts of the business.
Securing digital transformation is not only about mitigating risks, but it is also about enabling business agility, efficiency and growth. By adopting a business-aligned security posture, CISOs can transform security into a vital value driver, ensuring an organization's continued success in its digital transformation.
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