Sluggish UK security growth offset elsewhere in Europe

The adage that the security market keeps on giving is based on solid evidence, with Context adding its analysis of last year to the mounting pile of proof.

The market watchers, which get numbers directly from distributors across Europe, found that the cyber security market increased by 5.2% year on year (YoY).

That number was produced despite a challenging second half, with the market down by 3% in the third quarter and again by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. That slowdown was also geographically mixed, which could have implications for some established markets as they move through this year.

Context found that Southern and Eastern Europe were the strongest areas, with Spain a shining example by generating 20%, and Italy not far behind at 15%, which took it to a position of double-digit market share in Europe for the first time. Poland also stood out with a 59% improvement YoY.

In comparison, the UK was down by 15% in Q4, and Germany fell by 7% in the quarter. Given their position as the two largest markets, this had an impact on the overall growth across Europe.

“Despite a subdued finish to the year, Europe’s cyber security market showed real resilience in 2025,” said Joe Turner, global director of research at Context. “What stood out was how investment priorities shifted. Growth did not disappear, it simply moved to different countries and different security domains.”

When it comes to examining the technologies driving the market, there continued to be strong demand for network security, which increased by 7% across Europe.

Sales around infrastructure protection, identity and access management also experienced growth fuelled by customer responses to increased regulations and ongoing moves, particularly in the UK, towards zero-trust models. 

“Data has become the foundation of both regulatory compliance and AI development,” Turner added. “As organisations invest more heavily in internal AI models, protecting the data that fuels them has become mission critical. Losing control of that data does not just create compliance risk, it undermines the value of AI investment itself.”

Last week, Context also shared insights into the performance of retailers on the high street, with a resurgence being tracked across Europe, including the UK.

The analyst house found that in the last quarter of 2025, physical retail accounted for more than 62% of consumer technology sales across Europe’s largest economies. The UK number was 48%, as buyers continued to head to stores.

The reasons why physical retail is withstanding the online shopping alternative echoes the fundamental reasons business-to-business (B2B) customers work with channel partners.

“People are thinking harder about where they buy expensive technology. As devices become more complex, shoppers want to see them properly, ask questions and know who to go back to if something isn’t right. That’s bringing them back into stores,” said James Bates, senior retail analyst at Context. “Stores are no longer competing with online sales – they are supporting them. When the product is expensive or complicated, the presence of a real person still carries weight.”