IT security service commoditization: The case of financial institutions in Kenya

The rising increase in cyber-attacks on corporate Kenya calls for CIOs and other senior IT Executives from Financial Services Sector to come together and create a robust, secure and cost effective IT ecosystem. This paper illuminates the concept of Commoditization of IT Security services and its benefits to Financial Institutions in East Africa. The main purpose is to encourage companies to come together and collectively outsource their IT Security operational requirements to gain economies of scale. Together, companies can create demand for a commoditised IT Security service strong enough to create a sense of urgency and competition on the supply side. The success of such an engagement is based on the premise that the demand side competes on true business innovations and not on IT Services. Pooling together their resources, in areas in which they are not in competition, would achieve a more efficient and potentially cheaper service.