Boards Demand Measurable Outcomes from Cybersecurity Investments Amid Shrinking Budgets and Resources

As cyber threats escalate and budgets tighten, security discussions are increasingly shifting away from predicting the next big thing and toward identifying what delivers real, measurable results. With ransomware attacks rising across sectors and global cyber insurance premiums increasing by 15-20% year-over-year, boards are pressuring CISOs to demonstrate measurable returns on every dollar spent.

“AI and cybersecurity investments are under sharper scrutiny than ever. Leadership and investors alike are demanding more than just a theoretical promise. They want proof of real, profit-driving impact grounded in operational data,” said Imprivata CEO Fran Rosch in a recent Forbes Tech Council article.

In this climate, data has become the new currency of credibility. Organizations are turning to operational and access analytics to validate the impact of their cybersecurity tools, linking security posture directly to performance, productivity, and risk reduction. Through 2028, Gartner predicts that CIOs who implement ongoing strategic cost optimization will be 65% more successful in elevating their contribution to the organization’s mission.

User behavior and access analytics data, once used primarily for compliance reporting and auditing, is emerging as one of the most powerful indicators for optimizing technology investments through both risk reduction and efficiency gains. Every login, logout, and access request provides context to help organizations maximize resources, revealing how users interact with systems, where friction occurs, and which workflows deliver the most value. When aggregated, this data can reveal where security controls are enabling productivity or creating barriers that slow down teams and erode ROI.

“In a business environment where every dollar spent must be justified, access data offers visibility and validation,” said Rosch.

The organizations leading this shift are leveraging identity and access intelligence platforms to quantify efficiency gains, monitor adoption of secure workflows, and detect unnecessary privilege sprawl that inflates risk and cost. These insights help IT and business leaders balance security and protection with performance, turning identity and access management tools into a lens for both cybersecurity and operational health.

As resource constraints force teams to do more with less, proving value has never been more essential. By using data to connect security outcomes with measurable business benefits, organizations can turn their access ecosystems into engines of intelligence and strategic workforce enablers, transforming security from a source of friction into a source of strategic advantage.

Learn more about how to transform access data into actionable intelligence.