Business spending on security software is increasing despite
the economic downturn, according to analyst firm Gartner.
Growth of 18.6% for worldwide security software sales in 2008 to
$13.5bn shows that security remains a priority for CIOs and IT
security leaders, said Gartner analyst Ruggero Contu.
Data security, privacy and increasingly sophisticated and
targeted cyber attacks are fueling the growth of IT security
software spending, he said.
In Western Europe, the US and Canada, compliance was also a
contributory factor.
Security firm Symantec continues to lead the market with a 22%
share, followed by McAfee (10.9%), Trend Micro (7%), IBM (5.1%) and
EMC (4%).
However, the combined top five suppliers' market share is
gradually falling in favour of smaller players, who have gone from
48% of the market in 2007 to 50.9% in 2008.
"This is a sign that security remains a dynamic market where
smaller players, new entrants and specialist vendors provide an
effective challenge to established leaders," said Contu.
In 2009, Gartner predicts the security software market will show
signs of slowdown, but will continue to grow at around 9%.
This growth will be be sustained by increasing demand from small
to mid-sized businesses and new product delivery methods such as
software-as-a-service, said Contu.