Canadian Organizations Identify Cybersecurity as Top IT Priority, CDW Canada Survey Reveals

Email security, ransomware protection and intrusion prevention are the biggest security concerns for Canadian businesses

ETOBICOKE, ON, Aug. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - IT security continues to be a high priority for Canadian organizations, while many businesses are interested in cloud storage and collaboration tools, according to a new survey from CDW Canada, a leading provider of technology solutions and services for Canadian organizations.

When asked to identify areas of security that are a top priority, 59% of organizations cited email security as a main focus. Ransomware protection (52%) and intrusion prevention (48%) were also identified as top priorities, up from 35% and 39% respectively in a similar CDW Canada survey last year.

"Security remains a priority for businesses, but an increase in high-profile global security threats such as the WannaCry ransomware attack and more recently, VPNFilter malware, has prompted organizations to become even more vigilant when it comes to data protection," said Daniel Reio, Director, Product and Partner Management and Marketing, CDW Canada. "This year also marks a continued focus on the cloud, with data at the core of many organizations' IT plans."

Shift to the cloud continuing, but many still relying on existing collaboration tools

More than half of Canadian organizations (53%) say their cloud strategy for 2018 includes shifting workloads over time through hybrid solutions. Sixteen per cent of organizations plan to take a "cloud-first" strategy moving forward while 13% want to move all workloads to the cloud. However, when asked about their unified communications strategy, over one-third (36%) of respondents said they would continue to use their current tools and applications – compared with 22% who plan on making an upgrade in 2018.

Over the next 12-24 months, Canadian organizations cite the Internet of Things (32%) as well as analytics and Big Data (30%) as the emerging technologies that will have the most impact on their business.

Other key findings from CDW Canada's survey include:

• The main goals for organizations around data centre technologies include expansion and scalability (24%), reducing costs (21%) and consolidation (21%).
• When it comes to IT services, Canadian organizations look for the most support in deployments and upgrades (24%) followed by architecture and design (23%) and migrations and replacements (21%).

CDW Canada conducted a survey of its Canadian customers at its BTEX Toronto event in May 2018.

For more information about CDW Canada and its services, please visit: www.cdw.ca.

About CDW Canada
CDW Canada is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government, education and healthcare. Ranked the No. 1 solution provider in Canada on the Computer Dealer News Top 100 Solution Providers list, CDW Canada helps customers achieve their goals by delivering integrated technology solutions and services that help customers navigate an increasingly complex IT market and maximize the return on their technology investment. Areas of focus include software, networking, unified communications, data centre and mobility solutions. CDW Canada is listed on the Financial Post 500 list and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vernon Hills, Illinois-based CDW Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. For more information, visit www.cdw.ca.

SOURCE CDW Canada Inc.

Cindy Watson / Mike Martin, StrategicAmpersand Inc. (for CDW Canada), [email protected], [email protected]