Security: Strong Growth across Security Software, Hardware and Service Markets

As businesses increasingly adopt technologies like cloud computing, mobile, and remote access, security of data becomes a major concern.  Security software, hardware and services are all market areas that are showing healthy growth.

Gartner reports that the global Security software market increased to $17.7 billion in 2011, increasing 7.5 percent from 2010 revenue of $16.4 billion.  Top vendors in the Security software category include Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, IBM, and EMC.  Symantec is a clear leader in the category with 20.1 percent of market share — two percentage points higher than in 2010.  McAfee is a distant second with 6.9 percent; McAfee also saw revenue drop by nearly a quarter in 2011.

Gartner also reports that the global security services market increased to $35.1 billion in 2011 from $31.1 billion in 2010.  The Gartner forecast is for the market to reach $38.3 billion this year and exceed $49 billion by 2015.

Similarly, the hardware security market is also growing rapidly.  This category includes hardware, like network security appliances.  Infonetics Research reports that the global network security appliance and software market grew 8% in 4th quarter 2011 to $1.58 billion.  Cisco is the leader in this category, holding nearly a third of those revenues.  Check Point and Juniper rank second and third.

Lawrence Pingree, research director at Gartner, said that increased spending in the security services market segment is “is largely driven by organizations looking at managed security services (MSS) providers as a way to maximize resources and lower ongoing operating expenditures on security.  Demand in the small and medium business segments is also high as businesses continue looking to external parties to provide them with additional security expertise and resources that they may be lacking organizationally to help them make the right security decisions or provide security functions externally.”

Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner, said that “products within the security market are undergoing rapid evolution, in terms of both new delivery models — with security as a service (SaaS) showing increasing popularity — and new technologies being introduced, often by startup companies.”

Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research, said that “we expect an 8% increase in network security spending in 2012 as economies attempt to recover (despite some hiccups) and more security threats emerge every day. The consumerization of smartphones and the proliferation of smartphones, iPads, netbooks, and other mobile devices connected 24/7 to the Internet are driving companies to reassess how critical infrastructure in HQ, branch offices, remote offices, and data centers is protected from malware.”