Security Software Investments Drive Market Growth as CE Organizations Fight to Stay Ahead of Threats

Prague, October 15, 2015 – IT security investments are growing steadily across all delivery models (software, appliances, and security services), according to a new series of reports published by International Data Corporation (IDC). The reports track the security solutions markets across the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, with total investments across the four nations expected to reach $685 million in 2015. At the heart of this market expansion is the evolution of data-driven organizations that collect, store, and analyze growing amounts of data on citizens and customers, placing them in the role of data custodians, with responsibility for maintaining the security and the privacy of that data.

Spending on security services comprises about two-fifths of the market, the vast majority going towards implementation and operational security services. Although large global players are the overall leaders in security services provision, in each country market there are standout local or regional players; systems integrators with security expertise hold significant shares of the implementation services markets, while local telcos show up strongly in operational security services. A key driver of security services growth is demand from the small and medium-sized business (SMB) segment, with smaller companies looking to external providers to plug gaps in their internal skill sets and free up resources to focus on their core business.

Security software investments accounted for a third of spending in 2014 but have the strongest growth projection for this year at 9%. Endpoint security software dominates the sector, accounting for almost 60% of revenue. Nevertheless, identity and access management represents a second major pillar and is expected to grow more strongly throughout the five-year forecast period, driven in part by the explosion of remote access to corporate applications. The security and vulnerability management software market is also growing strongly, reflecting the increasing demands of security administration, which requires more sophisticated tools to protect complex infrastructures in the face of diversifying threats.

Security appliances comprise the smallest portion of the market, at just over a quarter of spending, although they are an increasingly popular option, driven by customers’ needs for straightforward, preconfigured, plug-and-play solutions as they struggle to cope with the expanding threat landscape and their own increasingly broad and complex IT infrastructure. The appliances segment is seeing a dramatic shift from single-function appliances such as firewalls and VPNs to unified threat management (UTM) devices, which further aid the simplification and consolidation objectives by bundling multiple functions in a single appliance. UTM, which dominated the appliances market in 2014, is further expected to see double-digit growth this year.

“IT departments in both public- and private-sector organizations face greater IT security challenges than ever before,” says CEE software research manager Mark Child. “They are called upon to protect the organization against an ever-increasing range of threats, while simultaneously transitioning to 3^rd -Platform architectures and acting as service providers and innovation enablers. The constant stream of well-publicized breaches at large organizations serves as a reminder that investments into protection against cyber threats should remain a priority.”

About the research - IDC’s series of security solutions reports track security investments in software, appliances, and services and look at the trends and drivers shaping the markets. Four CE market reports are available: Czech Republic Security Solutions Market Study, 2015 ; Poland Security Solutions Market Study, 2015 ; Hungary Security Solutions Market Study, 2015 ; and Romania Security Solutions Market Study, 2015 .