Return on Security Investment (ROSI)

Developing the Business Case for Security-Related Expenditures

Commercial and government organizations operate in an evolving world of internal and external security threats, but determining the appropriate funding level to respond to these threats can be challenging. Security expenditures may not adhere to traditional return on investment (ROI) business case analysis addressing such intangibles as performance and quality. To evaluate the right amount of investment to mitigate security risks, organizations need a specialized ROI tool that accurately shows the intrinsic value of a given security investment.

Criterion Systems has addressed this challenge with a refined “Return on Security Investment” (ROSI) process, a rigorous method for developing the business case for security-related expenditures.

ROSI has been implemented for several federal agencies and provides a practical quantitative model for answering the security questions that are a priority for today’s decision makers:

• What are the security-related risks of the enterprise?
• What impacts would a catastrophic security breach have?
• What are the most cost-effective security solutions?

What are the best technical security solutions? 

The ROSI methodology answers these questions by guiding organizations through a thorough analysis.