Security is the #1 Software Buying Consideration – Here’s How Vendors Can Showcase Their Credentials

If you’re paying attention to the news, you know that data breaches and cyberattacks are mainstay headlines. The threat is real and it’s rising. In fact, there was a 20% increase in data breaches between 2022 and 2023. 

When we surveyed 1,900+ software buyers around the world earlier this year at G2, I was pleased to see most organizations taking security seriously. Our research found that:

• 97% of respondents involve a security stakeholder at some point during the software buying journey, with research being the most popular stage. 
• 80% said their company requires a security or privacy assessment when purchasing software.
• 81% consider a vendor’s history with breaches or security incidents when evaluating software solutions.

While these percentages are high, I believe they should be 100%. And despite the intent to prioritize security, there is still a gap in execution — as 48% of respondents  admitted to purchasing software at work that was not approved or vetted for security by their IT or InfoSec team. 

There’s a clear opportunity for improvement, but the topic of rising security threats is not all doom and gloom. Many organizations are making strides to close that gap between intent and reality. G2 is one of them. As G2’s VP of Security Market Research, I’m proud of the latest innovations we’ve made to help buyers and sellers of B2B software and services be much more security conscious. 

Bringing security assessments to the forefront of G2 Profiles 

As many software buyers consider security to be a key differentiator in their software evaluations, earlier this year we introduced the ability for vendors to add a security assessment badge on their G2 Profiles. This new feature is a direct response to software buyers. In our survey mentioned earlier,  “security features the software provides” was ranked as the #1 software buying consideration overall. 

So, what is the benefit of these new security assessment badges? At a glance, they can help buyers identify a solution as a potential option in their buying process. By giving buyers the opportunity to evaluate a vendor’s external security qualifications and compliance efforts early on, it enables them to complete an important step in the sales process quickly, which can lead to shorter sales cycles. Current integration partners for this feature include SafeBase, Whistic, Drata, Conveyor, Vanta, and Responsive. 

More recently, we brought another security-focused feature into the fold — partnering with SecurityScorecard to feature their external cybersecurity ratings directly in G2 Profiles. The SecurityScorecard grading is akin to credit scores for cybersecurity. 

Products will feature an A-F letter grade measuring their security posture, another helpful piece of security information to guide buyers’ purchasing decisions. At the same time, this grade should also motivate vendors to maintain or improve their security to achieve the ‘A’ standard desired by their customers and prospects.  We believe this feature will provide valuable insights for those researching on G2 as they evaluate vendors’ dedication to their own security posture – seeing if they  “drink their own champagne” so to speak. 

While this feature has not yet been rolled out to all Profiles on G2, keep an eye out as they’re built out across our marketplace this year.

Increasing our collective focus on security

With the increasing focus on security, the Security market on G2 is growing. Today, we feature more than 100 different Security categories with more than 3,000 different products. While I expect this growth to continue, it’s not just about businesses needing security software. It’s also about ensuring all of their solutions are compliant and are not overtly susceptible to a breach. 

This is where our latest partnerships and Profile features come into play. Nearly every software buyer is thinking about the security of their software products and services, so every vendor and provider should also have security top of mind. It’s time to see those data breach statistics dwindle. Together, we can make it happen. Here’s to a more secure future for us all. 

For more security insights, tune into my "Dr. Zero Trust" podcast and check out my latest Research.