Punters are terrified of cyber attacks and are spending cash to make sure they are not the latest victim according to the most recent survey by the research analysts at Canalys.
Canalys has been asking around and added up some numbers and decided that the worldwide security market grew by nine percent in the third quarter.
Content security enjoyed the fastest growth, up by 13 percent year-on-year, with network security (eight percent) and security management (five percent) seeing rises in the third quarter.
Canalys research analyst Claudio Stahnke said that high-profile ransomware attacks and increasingly sophisticated phishing techniques had proved the need for businesses to reinforce their IT security to safeguard data assets and ensure continuity of operation.
The top five security vendors have commanded a third of all customer spend, with Cisco grabbing the most with nine percent. They were followed by Symantec, Check Point, IBM and McAfee.
“Cisco grew seven percent year on year, thanks to its strong channel partner focus and a broad product portfolio boosted by acquisitions”, said Stahnke.
The prospects for the fourth quarter and next year are also looking positive as the pressure on protecting data increases against a backdrop of the introduction in May of the GDPR regulations.
“In 2018, as hackers intensify the use of AI, attacks will become more sophisticated. This will increase demand for comprehensive security solutions, favouring those vendors with broad product portfolios”, said Stahnke.
Next year should be good for the security channel.
“Security threats have never had more public awareness than they do currently. 2017 saw major events such as Wannacry galvanise the public’s attention and affect organisations all around the world. In 2018, security breaches will continue to hit the headlines and influence businesses into reviewing their data protection. And of course GDPR will be a major factor in promoting sales of security solutions”, said Ian Kilpatrick, EVP Cyber Security for Nuvias Group.
“The reality is that security will continue to be a high growth area for the channel. In a market which is already overcrowded with solutions, 2018 will bring great opportunities for resellers to build on their position as trusted advisors and guide clients through what may seem like a worrying and confusing scenario”, he added.
