A large majority (81%) of segmentation users agree this technology is a critical pillar of a successful zero-trust strategy, and they found it helps save an average of $20 million in application downtime and avert five cyber disasters per year, according to a recent survey commissioned by Illumio.

Conducted by the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), the survey reached 1,000 IT and security professionals in eight countries. The research showed that nearly half (47%) of security leaders don’t have a mindset that assumes their organizations will get breached over the next two years, despite the heightened threat landscape.

But for the past two years, the majority of those surveyed have experienced cyberattacks. 76% of those organizations suffered ransomware attacks and 66% experienced at least one software supply chain attack.

“I’m shocked that nearly half of those surveyed in the Zero Trust Impact Report do not think a breach is inevitable, which is the guiding principle for zero trust,” Illumio co-founder and CTO PJ Kirner said in a statement. 

The good news is, on the contrary, those organizations are pouring more money into zero-trust adoption.

90% of the respondents stated advancing zero-trust strategies is among their top three security priorities this year, and 39% of organizations’ annual budgets for security controls are aimed at advancing zero-trust initiatives, the report found.

To purchase a zero-trust-related technology, 96% of buyers prefer technologies with best-of-breed capabilities as opposed to broad platforms, and nearly half of them will choose those tools from vendors with technology alliances and ecosystems.

Zero-trust segmentation tools can help prevent breaches from spreading across organizations’ hybrid environments, and most respondents consider it essential to a successful zero-trust initiative, according to the report.

Surveyed segmentation technology users reported that in addition to cost savings, it can free up 39 person-hours per week on average and help accelerate digital transformation. They have 14 more digital and cloud transformation projects planned over the next year compared to those that do not fully adopt segmentation.

The research also found that segmentation pioneers are 2.7 times more likely to have highly effective attack responses with 81% of them stating they now have a better ability to stop breaches or attacks from becoming cybersecurity disasters. 

“I am encouraged by the hard business returns zero trust and segmentation deliver. Zero trust segmentation is emerging as a true market category that is transforming business operations and strengthening cyber resiliency,” Kirner said.