Purely on a whim, I once hopped a flight to Lima, Peru. It was several hundred dollars, so what was I going to say? “No?” Sadly, the city wasn’t for me, so rather than exploring, I came back to DFW two days later. Unable to keep my sarcastic sense of humor in check, when the Customs Examiner raised an eyebrow and asked me why I went to Peru for only two days, I replied, “Because it was there.”

Wrong answer. Really wrong answer. Several hours later, I had learned a valuable lesson that still stays with me today: In the world of Customs Examiners, security is a really big deal.

For those who implement digital technology solutions, security is a serious-as-a-heart-attack concern, too. Google and Accenture just polled executive sponsors, IT subject matter leaders, consultants, and suppliers about what was crucial in a good digital technology infrastructure. Built-in security was a top priority for those surveyed: More than 300 technology decision-makers, perspectives of more than 50 IT Council members, and the latest published research from at least 10 different external reports. The companies’ survey read-out report — the consensus among this group as to what is important — is scheduled to be distributed in advance of the Modern Computing IT Council’s MCA launch announcement in September 2021.

Security is on Every Company’s Radar

Securing digital IT infrastructure is an ongoing concern for any type of business. It is crucial to protect the environment from end to end and the user work session from beginning to end. The best unified digital infrastructures have access control and application security built in. Secure workspace and internet access control mechanisms control the former, as does single sign-on (SSO). Having the ability to complement or replace popular VPN solutions with VPN-less access also is a big plus. In addition, stringent app and data security is crucial — in a way that is transparent to the user.

The net result is that this kind of unified security delivers a great experience through any work channel. Contextual policies govern access to, and use of, apps and data. Policies govern user groups (people), location (the geographical location from which the user typically logs in), and device posture (whether the device is corporate-managed or unmanaged, Bring Your Own, and so on). The best digital infrastructures even implement built-in security that detects excessive or unusual downloads. This helps potentially discover imminent employee attrition and theft of intellectual property.

Trade Up and Transition is a Consideration

Not every company is at the same stage in implementing digital technology and cloud-ready solutions. With this in mind, the ability to convert seamlessly from on-premises technology to a cloud-delivered offering is a productivity booster. Cloud service and access to SaaS, web, Linux, Windows, and other apps are also important to many IT leaders. Both on-demand consumption and a hybrid multi-cloud model — one that is cloud agnostic and includes some on-prem technology — are approaches that are appreciated.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is surprisingly simple. A proven unified infrastructure that includes built-in security is essential to success: You get the harmony of a great experience for both the workers and the IT professionals who support them. You also get stringent security that is transparent to users.

Download the survey read-out here.