Managed security service revenue totalled US$9.4 billion in 2009, up 12pc from 2008. Service provider managed firewalls continue to be the bread and butter services in this industry
Worldwide revenue derived from security services delivered via Software as a Service (SaaS) grew 70pc in 2009, fuelled primarily by demand for content security services like web, email, and anti-virus security.
“Despite the global economic meltdown that started in mid-2008, the security services market is strong and growing,” said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research.
“The primary market drivers for security services include increasing global demand from organisations of all sizes due to the proliferation of security threats of all types; the complexity of current security solutions; widespread use of diverse devices; and the desire of product manufacturers and service providers to add recurring revenue and improve margins.
“Strong interest in and broad availability of SaaS security offerings will help drive strong growth in the overall managed security services market over the next five years,” Wilson said.
SaaS revenue is forecast to grow from 10pc of total security service revenue in 2009 to 22pc in 2014, with cloud-based and CPE-based security services making up the balance.
“While large organisations currently represent the largest revenue opportunity for service providers offering managed security services, medium and small organisations are spending money on security services at a faster pace.
North America accounted for 41pc of worldwide managed security service revenue in 2009.
By John Kennedy
