Despite sluggishness elsewhere in the information technology sector, the market for security-related hardware, software, and services will continue to experience healthy growth, swelling to more than US$45 billion in revenue by 2006 from just US$17 billion in 2001, according to a study released Tuesday by International Data Corp. (IDC).
The study, which looked at spending on security-related information technology worldwide, predicted that security hardware will represent the biggest growth opportunity, with a projected 25 per cent compound annual growth rate between 2001 and 2006.
Security appliances will continue to be a popular method of delivering software, providing a flexible and centralized platform that allows companies to address a number of different enterprise security needs with a single device, IDC said.
The market for security services is projected to grow by 24 per cent, compounded annually, between 2001 and 2006, while the security software market will grow by around 16 per cent compounded annually over the same period, according to IDC.
Increased spending on security related technology will come as organizations begin the process of tying together disparate security components into a comprehensive system that provides protection across their entire network.
The need to limit exposure to legal liability resulting from insecure information will be one motivation for increased spending on security technology, according to IDC.
In addition, the continued spread of identity management and Web-based services will drive demand for software that provides secure user administration, authorization, and authentication, IDC said.