21% of CIOs expect their security budgets to increase
21% of Forrester survey respondents expect to increase their IT security budgets in 2009, while nearly three-quarters of those surveyed expect no cutbacks in their security spending. Only 6% of respondents anticipate having to cut their security budget 2009 despite the current economic uncertainty. Security makes up 10% of overall IT operating budgets in 2008, up from 8% in 2007. Nearly 50% of respondents report to a board/CEO or an executive committee. Security is no longer embedded within IT. Data protection is critical. More than half of respondents said that protecting corporate IP and customer data was their top priority for the next 12 months. Companies are realizing the significance of having business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place. 42% of respondents said it was very important, up from 33% from 2007.