There are boundless possibilities to build products and services, create productive partnerships and fulfil the wildest expectations of clients and customers by doing things bigger, faster and better.

In retail, this could mean devising more efficient supply chains, storage solutions and inventory management; in financial services it might be deepening ties with customers and providing a more personalised service. 

Organisations in the energy and resources sector can create fast, efficient and secure extraction and supply lines, while healthcare organisations are able to provide better patient care with more positive health outcomes.

It’s an exciting time to be in business. But with powerful and ubiquitous technology comes new levels of risk and never before seen challenges to corporate entities. Broader and deeper digital connections provide cyber criminals with a bigger target to aim at.

Not only is the attack surface enlarged, but the technologies used by businesses to make progress are being misused by bad actors to steal money and data or disrupt the organisations they disagree with.

Security has never been more important. Organisations would be forgiven for battening down the hatches and turning inward to protect themselves from the litany of global threats ranging from cyber thieves to rogue states.

As one of the most targeted organisations in the world, at BT we understand what it takes to limit risk and prepare for threats. But we also know that security doesn’t have to mean pulling up the drawbridge or hiding behind the sofa.

Businesses have a golden opportunity to create security strategies that balance protections with scope to innovate, collaborate and grow. This equilibrium is not easy to achieve, but the rewards for doing so are huge – including more organisational agility, increased customer satisfaction and even faster growth.

More good news: some companies are already getting it right. They engage experts, train staff, communicate values, align security strategies with organisational ones and maintain complete visibility of not only their own IT network, but also the values and preparedness of suppliers and clients along the supply chain.

We call this group Cyber Agile Organisations because of their ability to adapt to opportunities and threats in the market, leveraging security as a mechanism for either sustainable fast growth or, in the case of public sector organisations, better service delivery.

The definition of true cyber agility is ‘The ability to proactively manage cyber risk while leveraging a secure IT ecosystem as a platform for resilient growth’.

This is the focus of a new study by BT – called the Cyber Agile Organisation – which looks into the ingredients for success. What strategies and protocols do high performers follow? How do they communicate? Who do they recruit and how do they become experts in their field?

By putting questions like these to 2,500 C-level executives at organisations in the UK and globally, we have painted a picture of what makes a Cyber Agile Organisation and, by extension, what other businesses need to do catch up with the top dogs.

It’s an important guide for leaders who want to improve their own cyber agility, understand where their organisation ranks in the hierarchy, or simply get to grips with the increasingly synergetic relationship between security and agility.