Revenue growth and robust IT security are often seen as opposites — to get more of one, you have less of another.
Deployed and managed effectively, however, advanced IT security measures can both deliver return on investment (ROI) and help maximize revenue growth over time. Here’s how.
The Role of Security and the State of ROI in B2B Software Development
Robust security keeps software and applications safe during design, development, and deployment. Defensible deliverables, meanwhile, help drive ROI by meeting client expectations and driving return business.
The challenge? Security in the B2B software business is a push-pull process. While more security earlier in the development process means reduced risk down the line, C-suites are often worried about delays that could negatively impact delivery timelines.
Meanwhile, ROI only happens when software meets client expectations around performance, features, and security. Satisfied customers are more likely to return and more likely to recommend developers to business partners, third-party providers, and clients.
For B2B software developers, success in security and reliability in ROI is all about finding balance.
Four Ways IT Security Can Help Drive Revenue
So what does this balance look like in practice? Here are four ways IT security can help drive revenue.
1) Improving Delivery Timelines
Clients have expectations. Expectations for price, quality, and project timelines. If milestones are delayed — or missed entirely — clients may take their business elsewhere.
Advanced security measures can help developers stay on track by reducing the amount of time they spend identifying and addressing security concerns. Consider a new piece of B2B software developed for a manufacturing company to help enhance existing industrial control systems. To streamline the process, developers use existing open-source frameworks.
The problem? One of these frameworks contains a newly discovered vulnerability. If this issue isn’t identified until the late stages of the development process, significant time and resources are required to address the issue, putting project timelines at risk.
By leveraging advanced, cloud-based security tools, meanwhile, developers are better equipped to detect and resolve issues ASAP.
2) Mitigating Financial Risks
Security issues cost money. The bigger the issue and the farther along in the development process, the more developers spend to solve security challenges. And these aren’t the only costs — if software doesn’t satisfy evolving compliance requirements such as those listed in the EU’s GDPR, the CCPA, or even PCI DSS, companies may be on the hook for fines or sanctions.
Improved security can also reduce the risk of downtime for both applications and development environments. With the average cost of downtime now coming in at nearly $9.00 per minute, reduced downtime means more money to spend on building great B2B software.
3) Enhancing Development Opportunities
Efficient processes drive revenue and set the stage for product innovation. Security solutions including real-time malware scanning, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and behavioral-based analytics can help reduce the risk of process disruptions and help companies build secure development environments.
With staff spending less time handling security issues and dealing with security fallout, they have more time to focus on completing current projects and leveraging intellectual property (IP) to drive product innovation.
4) Building Customer Trust
Last — but never least — in the revenue equation is customer trust. Put simply, reputation now plays a critical role in driving ROI. Prospective clients do their research before ever reaching out to software developers. This research includes reading customer reviews of products, pricing, and application performance, and also searching out news or industry stories about issues with security during or after development.
Given the amount of money companies are willing to spend for best-of-breed applications, it’s no surprise they have high expectations of their software developers. Advanced security tools that improve incident response times by isolating potential problems and ensuring continuity by regularly backing up project data can help earn developers a reputation as trusted, transparent software providers.
Making the Most of IT Security Measures
ROI and IT security are intrinsically linked. But making the most of security measures can be challenging for many B2B software developers — with client expectations evolving and project deadlines looming, security may take a back seat to speed.
With the right IT professional solutions, however, B2B teams find a balance between deploying security solutions as early as possible in the development process and ensuring that project deliverables are on-time and in-budget.
Bottom line? Advanced IT security measures can help maximize revenue growth for B2B software developers. From improved timelines to reduced financial risks, enhanced transparency, and increased trust, security sets the stage for satisfied clients and sustained revenues.
