Building Alliances: Why Security Teams Must Forge Strong Relationships Across the Business

Security teams often operate in silos, disconnected from other parts of the business. To address today’s complex and rapidly evolving threat landscape, building alliances is essential. Security cannot be solely the responsibility of a small team; it needs to be embedded across the entire organisation. To successfully mitigate risk and drive security initiatives, security teams must establish strong, cross-functional relationships and collaborate with key stakeholders in every department.

In today’s climate, the ability to build strategic alliances with business leaders is no longer optional – it’s a necessity.

The Disconnect: Why Security Teams Fail to Build Strong Relationships

Many security teams face challenges when trying to communicate the importance of their work to other departments. There is often a gap between security experts and business leaders, resulting in misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and ineffective risk management. Security teams must understand business needs, not just technical threats, and forge alliances with those who can help drive change across the organisation.

Without these relationships, security will continue to be viewed as an afterthought or, worse, as a roadblock to business goals. Security teams need to build trust and understanding with key business stakeholders to ensure that their initiatives are aligned with the company’s objectives.

Why Building Alliances Matters for Security Teams

Building strong alliances with leaders in areas like operations, finance, procurement and legal is key to aligning security with business goals. When security is integrated into strategic decisions, resilience, compliance and continuity fall into place.

1. Fostering a Security Culture: By aligning security with other departments, teams can help foster a culture of security throughout the organisation. When everyone understands the importance of security and their role in protecting the business, the organisation becomes more resilient.
2. Influencing Decision-Making: Security practitioners need to have a seat at the table. By building alliances with business leaders, security professionals can influence key decisions – from product development to business acquisitions – ensuring that security risks are properly considered in every decision.

The Role of Cross-Functional Collaboration

Building alliances goes beyond just speaking to business leaders. Security teams must now engage with functional departments, fostering collaboration and ensuring security is considered at every stage of business processes. This cross-functional collaboration helps identify risks early, while also fostering mutual understanding and respect between security and business teams.

Collaboration isn’t just about risk management; it’s also about enabling business growth. When security is embedded within the business strategy, it ensures that the organisation can innovate and expand without sacrificing security.

Key Skills for Building Alliances

Security practitioners must develop a new set of skills to build effective alliances across the organisation:

• Influencing Without Authority: Security professionals often don’t have formal authority over other departments, so they must learn how to influence decision-makers and align security goals with business priorities.
• Effective Communication: Security teams must communicate risks in terms that resonate with non-technical stakeholders. Using clear, business-relevant language helps bridge the gap between security and the rest of the business.
• Relationship Building: Building trust with key stakeholders is crucial. Security practitioners must actively engage with other departments, identify common goals, and forge strong, lasting relationships.

Why Security Teams Must Adapt to a Changing Business Landscape

The business environment is changing, and security teams must adapt to stay relevant. Digital transformation, cloud adoption, and remote work practices have changed how companies operate and, in turn, how security needs to be managed. To address these challenges, security teams must partner with other business functions to develop holistic strategies that support business objectives while managing risk.

Final Thoughts

Security teams can no longer operate in isolation. By forging strong relationships with key departments, they can ensure that security is integrated into every aspect of the business. Marrying security, to long-term business continuity and growth.