The data-leak prevention market is a new segment of the security sector mainly populated by start-ups trying to make a name for themselves. Some of these vendors are quickly learning the tricks of trade, evidenced by the recent release of paid-for research from a prestigious firm designed to reinforce the need for their products.

Reconnex on Monday released highlights from the study it paid Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) to perform regarding the importance of protecting intellectual property (IP) – one of the key features of its data-loss prevention suite.

According to the findings, almost 75% of the enterprises participating in the study this year plan to spend more money on people, processes, and technologies for securing IP that is stored in electronic form. Nearly one-third of those respondents are spending money on IP protection following security breaches.

While that should sound like good news, Reconnex focused on the fact that the data revealed “a troubling lack of centralized policy oversight and an outdated reliance on manual processes for security IP.” Over half of the respondents said they rely on “sweat equity” to secure their electronic IP, with respondents at large companies answering that more than 80 hours a quarter are spent on manual processes to identify and classify IP.

According to Reconnex, using manual processes to secure IP leads to vulnerabilities that leave these corporate jewels unprotected. Instead, the report makes some “practical recommendations,” according to Reconnex: automate the discovery of IP by applying the appropriate technology; establish formal processes for identifying and classifying IP; and enlist multiple departments – information security, IT, compliance, legal, and others – to help secure IT.

Meanwhile Vericept last week released the results of a different survey it is promoting on its Web site by Enterprise Strategy Group, this one highlighting the financial impact of data breaches on companies and how data-loss prevention technology can help avoid it.

In this survey, ESG found more than one-third of companies that do not have data-leak prevention products installed had information stolen from their databases in the last 12 months, and of that group 30% said those breaches impacted their bottom-line revenues.