Technological innovation is moving faster today than ever before. From AI to automation to AR, new technologies are emerging at every turn and businesses are racing to keep up. Amid these rapid changes, how can organizations balance speed to market with security as they unveil new products, services and tools and digitally transform their processes?

Whether a company is moving with speed to get its innovation into the hands of customers or internal teams, it is critical for product, IT and security teams to be operating in lockstep. Security must be embraced as a critical value proposition of any product or service delivered, and it cannot be sacrificed or ignored. And with many calls for product innovation and digital transformation stemming from business needs, aligning security strategies with business goals is imperative for keeping threats at bay.

For every innovation, there’s a new security threat looming around the corner for tech leaders to anticipate and defend against. The number of security vulnerabilities grew disproportionately in 2023, jumping up by an alarming 589%. As CTOs start implementing new tools to boost efficiency and enhance business operations, they first need to ensure the right guardrails are in place to stay ahead of security threats that accompany technical innovation.

Take a Security-First Approach to Achieving Business Goals

It’s important to remember that prioritizing a robust security position does not have to hinder productivity or the ability of teams to achieve business goals. This is a myth that we will continue to see the industry debunk, especially as more companies elevate security leaders onto executive benches and boards. Having a security voice at the table where business decisions are made can help establish realistic processes for hitting business goals while also keeping the company, partners and customers safe from encroaching security threats. As more sophisticated cyberthreats continue to rise and wreak havoc on organizations, leadership teams must take a concerted, pragmatic approach to understand their security needs in a rapidly evolving security landscape. Those who continue to dictate product innovation and digital transformation initiatives without consideration of the security measures necessary to keep these investments protected may find themselves paying the steep price that comes with being compromised.

Avoid Sacrificing Security for Delivery

Company leaders need to remember that innovation must not come at the cost of security. While keeping up with the fast-paced nature of emerging technologies is crucial to remaining competitive, the long-term consequences of cutting security corners can be detrimental to not only your business reputation but the customer experience. Before teams rush to adopt and deploy the newest tools, key stakeholders must have a plan of action that prioritizes security measures at every step of the delivery process. As bad actors become more sophisticated in their attack methods, avoid letting your team’s efforts to innovate and digitally transform be tarnished by overlooked or underprioritized tool weaknesses.

Establish Collaboration Across Product, Security and IT teams

Innovation cannot happen in a vacuum. Product leaders must prioritize security across the product development lifecycle and avoid setting delivery timelines without early and continuous engagement with security and IT teams to identify the potential risks associated with the development, implementation, and adoption of the project. Test, learn, and get buy-in from these stakeholders when mapping out product development processes, utilizing domain knowledge to identify the potential security gaps in the product, define how those gaps will be included in the product roadmap, and forecast the budgetary investment needed for secure tooling and staffing through deployment. These teams need to work together to ensure cybersecurity strategies remain adaptive and agile. By instituting collaboration across key stakeholders of these organizations, departments can avoid siloed delivery workflows, which can leave room for risk, and ensure security is embedded at each stage of the project lifecycle.

As we embark on a new era of innovation across industries, it will be critical for technical leaders to establish the right balance between product delivery and security requirements. The goal of developing products faster and smarter will only continue to rise in importance for businesses, but ensuring security measures are not sacrificed along the way will be what sets a successful company apart from the rest.