Survey Shows a Spike for Corporate Interest in Security
McLEAN, Va.
Businesses are putting an increasingly high priority on
security and now may be the right time for the security
industry to tap into it. That is the finding of a survey of
senior business executives conducted by the Council on
Competitiveness.
The 2003 Competitiveness and Security Survey finds 86-
percent of businesses call security a “high” or “top”
priority, up from 70-percent in the 2002 survey. In
addition, a huge contrast was seen in how many companies
consider an investment in security good business. While
only 24-percent of executives in 2002 thought an investment
in security could improve their long-term productivity,
that number nearly tripled to 71-percent in the 2003
survey.
“This is a key result,” says Council President Deborah
Wince-Smith. “The nation cannot secure the homeland without
the participation of the private sector, and the private
sector may not respond fully unless there is a business
case to support it.”
The survey also found that 83-percent of companies have
conducted risk management assessments in at least two of
the following areas: Physical security, IT security and/or
financial management and 56-percent have made such an
assessment within the last six months.
“Unlike many business surveys, corporate and homeland
security is one topic that executives want to discuss,”
says Jim Adams, president and COO of Wilson Research
Strategies, which conducted the study. “Everyone has a
vested interest in the successful implementation of
comprehensive security practices, so business leaders will
make the time and be engaged.”
A majority of the executives polled – 35-percent – say
internal company assessments have fueled the increase in
corporate security initiatives, which is more than double
the 15 percent who site terrorist fears.
The Council on Competitiveness consists of CEOs, university
presidents and labor leaders who promote U.S. economic
growth.
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