Security top of the pops for Euro enterprises

Security is the top IT priority for European businesses in 2007.

Nearly 80 per cent of companies questioned by Forrester Research said they are looking to upgrade or add to their existing security software in the next 12 months.

Fifty-six per cent of enterprises said upgrading their security environment, business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) systems are top priorities.

In contrast, SMEs have slightly different priorities - with purchasing of new hardware, consolidating IT infrastructure and BC/DR considerations being the most important.

The top factor for businesses when considering security system purchases is ease of management, with 80 per cent of respondents saying this is either important or very important.

Bill Nagel, one of the authors of the report, said security spending in Europe will remain healthy in 2007, continuing the trend seen in the last two years.

The survey questioned 1,200 senior IT executives from enterprises and SMEs.