Irvine, CA, November 20, 2019

Survey: Data security and automation are top IT goals for 2020; AI lags behind

Netwrix report revealed that the majority of respondents are not planning to use emerging technologies, but rather invest resources in data protection and improving IT operations.

Netwrix, a vendor of information security and governance software, today announced the release of the Netwrix IT Trends 2020 report, which summarizes feedback from 1045 IT professionals worldwide about the projects they are planning for the upcoming year. Data security and automation were the top two planned IT projects for 2020, while artificial intelligence (AI) projects didn’t make the list’s top 10.

The online survey, conducted in October 2019, asked respondents to name their top five IT projects for the next year; they could pick from a predefined list or specify their own descriptions. The survey found no dramatic difference in IT priorities among organizations based on size or vertical. The key findings include:

74% of organizations named data security as their top IT priority for 2020
54% of respondents plan to focus on automating manual tasks
43% of organizations ranked data privacy among their top five priorities; 52% of them are subject to privacy regulations
33% of organizations intend to focus on digital transformation, integrating their existing solutions and performing cloud migrations. These goals were mostly cited by larger organizations with more than 5,000 employees
20% of organizations plan to focus on addressing the IT skills shortage either through education of existing IT personnel or talent acquisition
AI was included in the predefined list of choices but didn’t make it into top 10 IT trends selected. Only 14% of large organizations (10,000–50,000 employees) plan to deploy AI-based solutions in 2020

Not surprisingly, data security is a top priority for the majority of organizations. There are several factors that go into a successful data security process. The first is automating current processes to free up time for data security projects. Another is to research and deploy a data security solution. Be sure your solution offers automated data classification, because it is the optimal way to enhance data security and reduce your attack surface without additional effort by the IT team.
Steve Dickson, CEO of Netwrix

Infrastructure, operations, networking and security are the foundation upon which the technology-enabled world is built. It must deliver value at each layer as it ultimately supports people.
Gartner, "Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020" by David Cearley, et al, 21 October 2019.

To see the complete findings in the Netwrix IT Trends 2020 report, please visit https://www.netwrix.com/go/ITtrends2020

about netwrix corporation

Netwrix makes data security easy thereby simplifying how professionals can control sensitive, regulated and business-critical data, regardless of where it resides. More than 11,500 organizations worldwide rely on Netwrix solutions to secure sensitive data, realize the full business value of enterprise content, pass compliance audits with less effort and expense, and increase the productivity of IT teams and knowledge workers.

Founded in 2006, Netwrix has earned more than 150 industry awards and been named to both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.

For more information, visit www.netwrix.com.

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