Nearly eight out of 10 companies rate security as the single most important attribute of corporate networks, according to new research.

A poll of 254 senior executives by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that security has replaced network reliability and availability as the most critical network attribute.

But while businesses worry about security, the vast majority of executives want to further open up their networks to partners, customers and mobile workers. This creates friction between general management and IT executives, who point out that opening up the network can increase vulnerability.

By Robert Jaques at vnunet.

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