Dive Brief:
- Security is the most influential factor in the software purchasing process for half of US businesses, according to a report released Monday by Capterra. The report is based on a survey of 289 respondents who are responsible for software purchasing decisions.
- Businesses are willing to pay a premium for secure software that is well designed and intuitive, however 45% of businesses have stopped using software applications when security concerns arise.
- More than three-quarters of respondents considered data backups a must-have feature when choosing software. Other key features include security notifications, followed by the ability to encrypt data in transit and at rest.
Dive Insight:
The report comes at a critical time for the U.S. software industry, just weeks after the Biden administration released its national cybersecurity strategy, which has admonished the industry to accept secure-by-design as the new default posture for product development.
The administration said it plans to shift the burden of liability to make sure security flaws are tested and remediated before the product is sent to customers.
Some technology companies, such as Google and IBM, have publicly embraced the call to hold industry responsible for creating secure software.
The Capterra study showed companies are increasingly willing to change their purchasing decisions when software fails to meet their security needs.
“Customers experiencing a security issue with a vendor are likely to consider looking elsewhere in today’s hyper competitive software environment,” Zach Capers, senior security analyst at Capterra, said via email.
The report also found businesses are increasingly demanding a software bill of materials as a must-have feature in making purchasing decisions.
