SECURITY
Worldwide e-security spending up 30pc
04-03-2005
by Deirdre McArdle
The global security software and appliance market grew by 30 percent during 2004, with revenues topping USD3.7 billion.
That's according to market research and consulting firm Infonetics Research which also predicts that the security market will continue to grow strongly and will be worth USD5.5 billion by 2008.
On a sequential basis, revenue in the security software and appliance market grew 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004 compared to the previous quarter. Moreover, the report estimates that the fourth quarter of 2005 will see revenues jump 25 percent year-on-year to reach USD1.2 billion.
The report attributed the strong growth of the market to the exponential rise in viruses, malware, and targeted attacks that are discovered every day, "compelling companies of all sizes to invest in security."
Indeed, a recent survey by Irish technology research firm iReach highlighted the increase in spending on security solutions by Irish firms; the survey said that 60 percent of Irish-based organisations are increasing their spending in this area in 2005. IReach predicts that the sector will generate more than EUR100 million in total revenues in Ireland for the first time in 2005.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) and firewalls, "the backbone of network security" according to Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics Research, account for the majority of revenue in the security market -- 78 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004. "New technologies will appear, and often start life as standalone products, but eventually their key features will be absorbed into the multi-function VPN/firewall appliances," said Wilson.
Cisco held on to its position as leading security vendor in 2004 with over 30 percent market share. Check Point and Juniper maintained their second- and third-place positions respectively while vendors like McAfee, Nortel and Symantec all shared significant market share across a number of categories in the sector.
The security market has seen increasing consolidation in recent months. In November Symantec announced a merger with Veritas to become one of the world's largest security software firms. Meanwhile, in January MCI purchased NetSec in a bid to offer more advanced security services.
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