As we look ahead to 2024, industry experts are forecasting two transformative trends: the democratization of IT through SaaS adoption and the emergence of collaborative CISOs leading a cybersecurity franchise revolution.
Guy Guzner, co-founder and CEO of Savvy
SaaS will democratize the IT department
Similar to how social media democratized the news, SaaS is poised to democratize IT. Third-party productivity and generative AI offerings are acting as gateways for employees to expect the freedom to leverage any tool to get their work done, irrespective of IT policies. This will create significant organizational challenges as IT and security teams grapple with the mass proliferation of unsanctioned SaaS usage. Ensuring that basic identity hygiene is maintained, identifying the lack of SSO and reused passwords, as well as effectively offboarding users when they leave will become both more difficult and more important than ever.
CISOs will begin to franchise cybersecurity
We are starting to see CIOs franchise digital delivery and co-lead, co-produce and co-deliver digital transformation initiatives. This evolving mindset will extend into the realm of security, where CISOs are poised to take on a more collaborative and co-owning role with CIOs and business unit leaders in the development and decision-making of security solutions. This departure from the sometimes adversarial relationship between CIOs and CISOs is indicative of a broader trend towards integrated governance.