Large US firms are losing 182 days of employee productivity every year due to over complex security.
IS Decisions research highlights a failure of both US and UK businesses to find the right balance between user security and user productivity.
Our research reveals that on average, each (US) employee loses 21.88 minutes every week because of complex IT security procedures. Across a large organization with 250 employees, that time adds up to 3.8 days lost productivity a week or 182 days a year. Even SMEs suffer lost productivity to the extent of 21.9 days a year (based on companies with 30 employees).
These results come from our survey of 500 US and UK organizations which is looking into the effect of compromised login credentials and the cost of security on productivity.
The research shows that organizations are becoming more aware of the effect that complex security has on productivity, with 60% saying the day-to-day impact of security on employee productivity is increasing.
IS Decisions CEO François Amigorena said:
“Given the huge potential cost and brand damage a security breach can cause, the paranoia behind enforcing user security within organizations can often result in complex, costly and disruptive processes.”
“Respondents have said that it’s complexity that’s the biggest barrier to guarding against compromised credentials, and it’s complexity that’s negatively affecting productivity. Striking the right balance between user productivity and user security is an understandable challenge but with the right technologies and processes in place, the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“Today IS Decisions launches a top tips guide that reveals the extent to which organizations are failing to address compromised credentials and outlines five steps to improve security without affecting productivity. I would urge those responsible for IT security within their organization to have a quick read. Imagine what you could achieve if you could get that lost productivity back.”
Read the report: User Security vs User Productivity: How to strike the right balance.
