Procurement and supply of cyber security consultant services - Interview-based case study

Abstract

Cyberthreats have been rising as one of the major concerns in organizations throughout the world and different types of information security incidents are making it into news headlines more often than ever. This has made organizations more aware of the need for information security regardless of the type and line of business the organization presents. Many companies provide different types of information security services to provide protection against these emerging threats and new businesses are started every day. Each organization has their own specific needs depending on multiple factors such as type, size, age, line of business, people working in these organizations and clients they have. Companies selling their products and solutions also differ from each other by their technological approach, methodologies they have used and people who adapt these to the needs of the client. As the number of these combinations is almost infinite, the technical success rate and people's opinions from these implementations vary highly. The research was conducted by interviewing people from different types of organizations to get their opinions about the kinds of information security services they have procured and how they see these services have met their needs and expectations. The results provide more understanding what the needs and expectations of different types of organizations are, and through this research the offering of security services can be profiled better to meet the needs of a client and also to find the gaps in the offering that the next generation needs.