Most mid to large European companies plan to consolidate network
security on a single
hardware appliance in the next year, a survey has revealed.
An average of 90% of respondents said they planned to
consolidate, with two-thirds doing so to reduce costs and make
network security easier to manage.
The Vanson Bourne survey polled 600 IT decision makers in UK,
France and Germany, with 200 drawn from each country.
All countries were positive about consolidating two or more
security functions into a single hardware appliance, although the
UK was lagging by more than 20%.
Romain Foucherou, IDC analyst said this is surprising
considering the UK is one of the largest users of
unified threat management (UTM) appliances.
The most likely explanation, he said, is that UTM suppliers have
been more aggressive in France and Germany in demonstrating value
in the recession.
"The recession has taught most organisations the value of this
approach to security, which frees organisations from rigid
licensing models," said Foucherou.
Some 44% of survey respondents cited this as the most important
procurement lesson learned from the recession.
"Organisations can switch costs from capex to opex, paying for
flexible services that can be turned on and off as required," said
Foucherou.
A quarter of respondents said a UTM approach to security enabled
them to get more security at a lower cost.
"Once companies have invested in a single hardware appliance,
new capabilities can be added with a simple hardware upgrade," said
Foucherou.
This means organisations can be assured of future scalability as
the business grows and the threat environment changes, without
buying additional hardware, he said.
Medium to large businesses are being more progressive in
security strategies, said Patrice Perche, VP EMEA at security firm
Fortinet.
"They are looking at mature, enterprise-ready integrated
security solutions to reduce cost and tighten security through
consolidation," he said.
Despite the recession, Foucherou said cost was not the only
driver. Scalability and ease of use are almost equally important to
business, he said.