Security revenues to pass $100B by 2020, says new report

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Security spending is climbing, and revenues from security hardware, software, and services are expected to hit $101.6 billion by 2020, according to a new report from International Data Corporation (IDC).

The Worldwide Semiannual Security Spending Guide, released Wednesday, is the first of its kind from IDC, and seeks to expand on previous predictions and forecasts made by IDC in the security market.

If the security revenues indeed hit the projected number, they will have grown by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3%. According to a press release, that's "more than twice the rate of overall IT spending growth, over the five-year forecast period."

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"Today's security climate is such that enterprises fear becoming victims of the next major cyberattack or cyber extortion," Sean Pike, program vice president of security products at IDC, said in the press release. "As a result, security has become heavily scrutinized by boards of directors demanding that security budgets are used wisely and solutions operate at peak efficiency."

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Not surprisingly, banking will be leading the industry's growth, with an $8.6 billion investment in security products. Combine the financial industry with discrete manufacturing, federal/central government, and process manufacturing, the release said, and it makes up 37% of security revenues globally in 2016. It will continue to grow through 2020.

In terms of what, exactly, the money is being spent on, security-related services top the list. Those services make up 45% of security spending in 2016, with security software as a close second in terms of overall share of spending, the release said. Most of the software sales will be driven by "endpoint security, identity and access management, and security and vulnerability management software," the release said.

"The pace and threat of security attacks is increasing every year, especially across compliance-driven industries like healthcare, telecom, government and financial services," Eileen Smith, program director of customer insights and analysis for IDC, said in the press release. "In addition to the traditional challenges of risk and regulatory compliance, digital transformation and the use of 3rd Platform technologies are putting even more pressure on organizations across all industries to develop and execute on a new generation of security measures."

The US will lead revenues, with $31.5 billion in security investments projected by the end of 2016. Western Europe will follow in second place, with the Asia-Pacific (APC) region in third, the release stated.

The increase in security investment will likely further burden the skills gap in security, which has companies scrambling to find more talent. A recent Cisco report estimates the number of unfilled security jobs at 1 million, and a few universities have begun working to help fill those roles as well.

The 3 big takeaways for TechRepublic readers

1. IDC predicts that security revenues from hardware, software, and services will reach $101.6 billion by the year 2020.
2. Banking will make the biggest investment in security, and the US will be the strongest geographic region for security investments.
3. The tech skills gap is pronounced in the security space, and the increased spending in the area could further exacerbate the problem for companies looking for talent.

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Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/security-revenues-to-pass-100b-by-2020-says-new-report/#ftag=RSS56d97e7