What Are 10 Trends for CISOs in Europe in 2022?

Our annual Leadership Perspective Survey results are coming in, and I’m one of several of us at Evanta who likes to dissect the data. The survey input comes directly from the C-level executives in our communities – and in this case, I took a dive into CISOs across our communities in Europe. 

We often see differences by region in executives’ enterprise goals and planned investments, and this information and these subtle differences help our team create discussion topics and build agendas for our gatherings that are the most relevant and timely for those community members.

It can also be helpful for the executives themselves to see if their priorities align with their peers in that region or around the world. Already, more than 800 CISOs have shared their priorities, goals and challenges for 2022. 

Here are the top five trends for Enterprise Priorities for CISOs in Europe:

1. Digital Business Acceleration is a new priority added this year and has taken the top spot for EMEA CISOs’ enterprise priorities in 2022.

2. Reducing Risk was ranked #1 in 2021, however in 2022, it’s dropped two spaces coming in at #3.

3. Increasing Operational Efficiencies and Productivity has remained at #2 for two years running.

4. Improving Customer Experience has dropped four places, ranking #8 for EMEA CISOs in 2022.

5. Digital Growth has jumped one spot and represents the fourth most important enterprise priority this year.

Here’s a chart identifying the top three enterprise priorities for CISOs in our regions across EMEA for 2022.

There are also trends in European CISOs’ planned areas of investment this year – here are the top five:

1. 59% of CISOs have identified an increase in their operating budget for the coming year, up from 52% in 2021.

2. 62% of CISOs have identified an increase in their planned tech spend for 2022, which is 7 points higher than in 2021.

3. CISOs are continuing to make heavy investments in Cloud Security/CASB and IAM/Multi-Factor Authentication in 2022. In fact, 81% of CISOs with planned spend in these areas will make their investments within the next 12 months.

4. Investments in Threat Intelligence and Vendor Risk Management have increased in priority for EMEA CISOs jumping from #9 to #3 and #10 to #4 in rankings, respectively.

5. Data Loss Prevention investments remain in the top five planned spending opportunities for the second year in a row and has been noted as the #2 investment technology in both the Nordics and UK&I regions.

Here’s a chart identifying the top three investment areas for CISOs in our regions across Europe for 2022.

Overall, it’s clear that the ever-expanding digital footprint of today’s enterprise is driving security trends in 2022. In early conversations with the CISO community, Governing Body members have told us that the CISO role continues to evolve. There is less focus on the technical side, whilst digital risk management and business enablement take centre stage. 

This is evident in our Leadership Perspective Survey data above. Success in securing the digital enterprise will happen when CISOs continue to improve operational efficiencies, accelerate digital business, and reduce risk, while continuing to invest in technologies that support the advancement of their security posture.