This diary is a bit different than the tecky ones i usually write, I'm hoping we can have a discussion on what trends folks are seeing in their security budgets and projects for 2011.

I'll go first, I hope that's ok.  I'm seeing IT budgets trending towards modest increases, but with a real difference.  IT budgets all seem to be skewed towards things that have quantifiable, hard returns on investment.  Things like virtualization, storage upgrades and updates to core business applications are the big winners this year.   The exception to this trend seems to be at the plus end of the spectrum.  I've got 10gig network upgrades, trill and fcoe projects left and right.

What I'm not seeing is increases in security budgets.  There seems to be fewer audits and pentests, or in some cases none at all.  Security teams seem to have a big helping of  "more with less" this year.  While you can get a lot done with a good imagination, good skills and free tools, a zero budget and no time allocated is still a big pair of obstacles.  What managers often overlook is the rate of change in this field.  Standing still  in your securuty efforts in most cases means walking backwards in varying degrees of briskness.  I'm seeing lots of folks walking slowly backwards lately.

So, please, use the contact form and let us know what you see coming up for security projects and budgets this year.  Is what I'm seeing matching what's happening in your company, or am I off base completely?
 

=============== Rob VandenBrink Metafore ===============