For a remote-first startup deciding where a limited security budget should go first, the industry spending record points to two categories above all others: Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Enhanced Network Protection. An Optiv analysis of more than 6,000 data points collected between January 2024 and July 2025 found that organizations across Energy and Utilities, Finance, Government and Public Sector, and Industrial industries recorded their highest total spend on IAM tools compared with other security technologies, while network security spending continued across industries as businesses leaned on cloud computing and remote work. Together, these two areas cover the core risks of a distributed workforce and form the foundation of a Zero Trust security model.
Setting the Stage: Why Cybersecurity is Critical for Remote-First Startups
A startup without a central office concentrates its risk in exactly the places attackers probe: user credentials, remote access points, and data moving between cloud services and devices. Optiv's analysis notes that organizations have begun increasing adoption of Zero Trust architectures specifically to counter what it calls "the new-age threats that come with technology enhancements." For a young company, that threat picture arrives alongside regulatory expectations—GDPR and PCI-DSS are named in Optiv's findings as regulations that identity technologies help satisfy—meaning early security choices are also early compliance choices.
The practical question for founders is not whether to invest in security but which category earns the first dollars. The answer matters because a remote-first company cannot secure a perimeter it does not have; it must instead secure identities and the network paths its people actually use.
Industry Insights: Top Cybersecurity Investment Priorities (2024-2025)
Optiv's observations draw on 6,000+ data points collected and analyzed within the firm, spanning January 2024 to July 2025. Two findings stand out for budget planning. First, organizations in Energy and Utilities, Finance, Government and Public Sector, and Industrial industries showed the highest total spend on IAM tools and technologies—including authentication and authorization, identity management, and privileged access management (PAM)—relative to other security technologies. Second, organizations across industries kept spending on network security tools and technologies to safeguard sensitive data, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain business continuity against attack vectors.
These are cross-industry figures, not startup-specific ones, and they cover a defined period rather than a permanent law of spending. But for a founder looking for a signal about where mature security buyers put their money, the pattern is consistent: identities first, then the network paths that connect them.
