Security Spend vs. Organizational Budget
Percentage of IT or overall organizational budget allocated to security functions
Current Value
9.2%
+1.3% from previous period
Industry average: 6-12%
Calculation Method
(Security budget / IT budget) × 100% or (Security budget / Overall budget) × 100%
Significance
This KPI measures the financial investment in cybersecurity relative to overall IT or organizational spending, helping to benchmark security investment against industry standards and assess budgetary adequacy.
Definition
Security Spend vs. Organizational Budget measures the proportion of an organization's financial resources dedicated to cybersecurity functions and activities. This can be calculated as a percentage of the IT budget or as a percentage of the total organizational budget, depending on how security is structured within the company.
Significance
This KPI provides context for security investment decisions and helps determine if security funding is appropriate given the organization's size, industry, and risk profile. While higher spending doesn't guarantee better security, insufficient investment often leads to security gaps and increased risk.
Tracking this metric over time helps identify trends in security investment and provides a benchmark for comparison against industry peers. It's also useful for justifying budget requests and demonstrating security program maturity to leadership and board members.
Calculation Method
This metric can be calculated in two primary ways:
- As percentage of IT budget: (Security budget / IT budget) × 100%
- As percentage of overall budget: (Security budget / Organizational budget) × 100%
The security budget should include all security-related expenses, including:
• Security staff salaries and benefits
• Security technologies and tools
• Security services (managed services, consulting, etc.)
• Security training and awareness programs
• Security audits and assessments
• Security incident response and recovery costs
Current Performance
Security Budget as % of IT Budget
9.2% (Industry avg: 6-12%)
Security Budget Trend
Year-over-year growth: +14%
Our security budget has increased from 7.9% to 9.2% of the IT budget over the past fiscal year. In absolute terms, security spending has grown by 14% compared to the previous year, while the overall IT budget increased by 5.2%.
Benchmark
Industry average: 6-12% of IT budget, varying by industry
By industry segment (% of IT budget):
• Financial Services: 10-15%
• Healthcare: 8-12%
• Retail: 5-9%
• Manufacturing: 4-8%
• Technology: 7-12%