Convergence Report: Relationship, Not Structure, Key to Security Optimization

March 7, 2023 – The Security Executive Council’s Security Leadership Research Institute has released highlights of its study on the state of security convergence, conducted jointly with Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business.

The research sought to determine the veracity of a common assumption in the security field: that most high-performing and successful security functions operate within a “converged” structure, with corporate and cyber security reporting to a single security or risk executive. It more broadly sought to gauge the state of optimization that can be had with stronger collaboration between corporate and cyber security.

Among other findings, the study determined that security collaborative optimization (SCO) can be found not only in organizations where cyber and corporate security are structurally merged, but in organizations where the two functions are separate, with separate leaders and reporting lines. In all SCO structures, good relationships, strong communication, and transparency were key factors in collaborative success.

The study further found that most structural shifts toward greater collaboration resulted from unexpected organizational changes, including mergers and negative security events.

The released findings represent highlights of the full research report, which is currently only available to study participants. Download a copy of the report highlights here.

The SLRI and Kennesaw State University will now move to Phase 2 of this project, which will dive deeper into issues such as joint metrics, staff group structures, cost, and whether the industry of the participant company impacts SCO.

About the Security Leadership Research Institute
The Security Leadership Research Institute (SLRI) provides independent and actionable research to the security and risk community. The SLRI was formed because of the need by the security industry to document the entire spectrum of corporate security risk mitigation through research. The SLRI conducts many forms of research, including benchmarks, practitioner quick polls, state of the industry and trend reports, and custom research for individual companies and security leaders.
Learn more: www.securityexecutivecouncil.com/about/research_institute.html.

About the Security Executive Council
The Security Executive Council is the leading research and advisory firm focused on corporate security risk mitigation strategies and plans. We work with security leaders to transform security programs into more capable and valued centers of excellence. Watch our 3-minute video for a quick overview or visit us at www.securityexecutivecouncil.com.

Media Contact:
Marleah Blades
Manager, External Relations
256-689-0242
mblades@secleader.com