IT security spending picks up pace

Eleven per cent growth this year, predicts Gartner

This year organisations have indicated an intention to give priority to security budgets

Worldwide security software revenue is forecast to grow 11.3 per cent this year, surpassing $16.5bn (£10.5bn), according to analyst Gartner.

Regulatory compliance, particularly user provisioning, rapidly evolving threats, security information and event management (SIEM) and mobile data protection are driving the market, the analyst said.

Matthew Cheung, senior research analyst at Gartner, said: "The growing sophistication of the threat landscape – with malware composed of multiple components that can be installed after the initial infection and the exploits of socially engineered Trojans, which trick end users into downloading and executing malicious files – will push organisations and consumers to invest in end point security products in coming years.”

The consumer security software market remains the largest security software segment, with 2010 revenue projected to reach $4.2bn in 2010, up from $3.9bn in 2009. The enterprise market is not far behind, with revenue on pace to reach $3bn in 2010, up from $2.9bn in 2009.

Ruggero Contu, principal research analyst at Gartner, said: "Most segments of the security software market will continue to grow over the next few years, although a significant degree of variation is expected between the more established and less mature technologies.

"Overall, security will remain one of the fastest-growing areas within the enterprise software market."

The economic downturn slowed security revenue to seven per cent growth in 2009 to $14.8bn, but this year organisations have indicated an intention to give priority to security budgets.

“During the next six to 12 months, products delivered as software-as-a-service and appliances will continue overtaking traditional software licensing as the preferred purchasing methods,” said Cheung. “Delivery as a suite in sub-segments such as enterprise end point security, identity and access management (IAM), and web security will be the most prevalent product delivery types.

"Despite major vendors seeking to consolidate, opportunities exist for smaller niche players and product specialisation, and local expertise is expected to remain a valued factor.”

IAM is a critical component of business security strategies, the analysts found. Gartner clients indicated that about eight per cent of their security budgets are currently dedicated to IAM. This area is composed of technologies with varying levels of maturity and adoption. Gartner predicts the IAM market will grow to more than $12bn by 2014.