Scale-Up Cyber Budget Checklist for 2027
Summer is the season of well-deserved vacation, and with a fresh mind, it also marks the point where next year's budget discussions are starting up.
We've compiled a few points below that will get you started on this journey, including high-level cost estimates.
Small caveat: as with everything, it depends on the size of your business and the approach taken. This will be a recurring theme throughout this article.
1. New Opportunities on the Horizon
Winning business in any of the EU markets increasingly depends on demonstrating strong cybersecurity. 2027 therefore is an excellent year to plan for and attain cyber certifications that build trust relationships with both prospects and existing customers, and also work towards improving the resilience of the business.
Investment considerations:
Self-certified approach for Scale-Ups (eg ISO 9001): €3-5000 in year 1 and €2-3000 to maintain, per certification
Implementation and third-party certification: €5-15000 in year 1, one person-day per month to maintain, and €2-3000 to re-certify, per certification
Consultancies often offer bundle deals for adopting multiple certifications at a time, eg ISO9001 and ISO27001, which can unlock significant savings.
2. Enable AI Adoption Safely
Customer service, note taking, document analysis and so on. Without a doubt, AI presents the biggest productivity drivers in 2027.
To ensure these use cases are deployed securely, implementation of policies should be done in parallel with implementation of workflow automation and tool deployment.
Investment considerations:
Fractional CISO, 1-2 days a month, will help the board consider cyber risks appropriately and support decision-making: €2-3000 per month
Technical review or Pentest of a new solution: usually starts from €6000
3. Build Security Into the Lifecycle
Embedding cybersecurity into the delivery lifecycle is usually a lot cheaper than fixing issues in the final product. But since cloud environments, software solutions and even AI agents change continuously, this could be a daunting task. When applied in the right way, expert advice can often alleviate a lot of these headaches.
Investment considerations:
Specialist consultants can be engaged to recommend tooling and help with configuring or deploying cybersecurity solutions: tooling cost €6-12000, implementation from €3000 and internal staff effort on reviewing outcomes 2-3 mandays a month.
If you know you already need to demonstrate security on an ongoing basis, consider a third-party Continuous Testing or Pentest as a Service (PTaaS) option, these typically start from €10000 per annum.
4. Invest in People Who Enable the Business
Investing in awareness and technical training helps employees make informed decisions, understand new technologies and reduce potential risks around Shadow AI. If you want to learn more about that, we have a dedicated post here.
Investment considerations:
Cyber Awareness Training Package from €100 per person
Specialist Training (eg secure deployment or development practices in the era of AI) from €500 per person
Tabletop exercise to simulate response to an incident (eg phishing or malware) from €3000 per session with no limit on participants
+1 Invest in Visibility Before You Invest in More Technology
One of the most valuable investments an organisation can make is understanding their current security posture.
Controversial thought: our view is that knowing where weaknesses are does not mean they all need to be fixed immediately. Applying a risk management-based approach, and a healthy level of pragmatism helps to manage exposure and keep costs at a sensible level.
Investment considerations:
Independent assessments, penetration testing, architecture reviews, and maturity assessments are generally quite affordable and start from €6000
Fractional CTO or Cyber Engineering resource to help tune existing, deployed technologies are accessible from 1-2 days a month, starting at €2-3000 per month
Final Thoughts
In 2026, AI has become part of day-to-day business operations, and we only expect its presence to continue growing in 2027.
From our perspective, this means that AI should not be treated as a specialism in the business; it is embedded across all of our activities, and consideration should be given to supporting it from a security point of view.
Consultants on the 45 Cyber Labs team have helped many organisations, large and small, to strengthen their cyber security awareness and resilience. Reach out to learn how we can help secure your ecosystem.
Looking for more to consider? Check our Cyber Budget Survival Guide for 2027 here:
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