Context reveals shift in security preferences
The European market has returned to growth, but spending is happening in a few areas at the expense of more traditional tools
Buying patterns in the security market continue to evolve as customer priorities change in relation to threats and investment priorities.
Despite those changes, the security revenues going through European distributors improved in the past few weeks, with the market returning to growth in April, according to the latest market analysis from Context.
The start to the year had been soft but things have picked up, with investments increasing in identity, compliance and infrastructure protection. The shift in spending into those areas is an indication that users are reacting to a regulatory environment as well as fending off threats to infrastructure and data access.
Identity and access management (IAM) was the fastest growing segment, with revenues up year on year (YoY) by 18%. That was followed by data security, which improved by 13%. Meanwhile, traditional network security was down by 4%, with endpoint protection down by 1%.
Context’s analysis is a clear indication the channel needs to be pitching IAM and data security tools as customers react to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), with reports of increased use of autonomous AI vulnerability-hunting tools and ongoing ransomware attacks
“Cyber security investment priorities continue to evolve rapidly across Europe,” said Joe Turner, vice-president of sales and research at Context. “Businesses are increasingly prioritising identity, compliance and data-centric protection as attack surfaces expand and regulatory scrutiny intensifies. We are seeing a clear transition away from purely perimeter-focused security strategies toward architectures centred on access control, resilience and governance.”
The shift in focus to identity and data security was an important one that European channel partners needed to take note of, he said, adding: “Cyber security is no longer only about defending networks. The market is adapting to a world where AI can both strengthen and accelerate attacks, while supply chain exposure and third-party risk continue to grow in importance. Organisations are responding by investing in technologies that provide stronger visibility, identity assurance and operational resilience.”
The Context analysis underlined the increasing preference customers have for the managed service model, with the MSP community increasing revenues by 17%, even in the face of the softer conditions that plagued the first few months of this year.
The indications of a shift in technology preferences comes at a time when customers are wrestling with other challenges. Last week, CyberSmart’s latest annual MSP survey revealed a concerning shift in priorities among small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs, with the focus on security slipping behind other pressures, despite the increased number of threats. MSPs reported that dealing with cost pressures and inflation were coming in above security for most SMEs.
“Cyber risk and economic pressure are now inseparable,” said Jamie Akhtar, CEO and co-founder of CyberSmart. “MSPs can no longer sell cyber security in isolation when rising costs dominate customer priorities.
“The real challenge has moved beyond the tech stack into liability, compliance and accountability,” he added. “For SMEs, the key is embedding security into day-to-day operations and working with trusted partners to maintain resilience without adding unnecessary complexity or cost.”
