Asia Pacific provides growth opportunity for IT security

Sales of information security products in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 28.3 per cent throughout 2008, according to a report by ICT research institute Gartner.

Australia is second behind China in security software market growth, with 27.5 per cent growth netting $248.6 million in revenue.

Matthew Cheung, senior research analyst at Gartner, said that the figures indicated the strength of confidence in the region’s future in the sector, with emerging Asia Pacific markets expected to offer the highest growth opportunities in the coming years.

“The region is vibrant and fast-growing, which is fostered by the need for modernisation,” said Cheung.

“Demand for IT security in emerging markets such as China is high, and even other small countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, are considered fast-emerging economies. Asia Pacific is viewed as a large long-term sustainable market, especially amid the global economic recession.”

Gartner found that email security, security information event management (SIEM) and secure web gateway products were the highest growth areas, citing the rise of sophisticated, specifically targeted data attacks on IT infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific as the main driver for growth in these areas.

The top five firms were Symantec, Trend Micro, McAfee, EMC and IBM; who together accounted for almost 50 per cent of the total market share. Symantec holds the vast majority at 22 per cent, but the report found that a drop in the top five’s dominance describes a dynamic environment where new entrants and specialist firms can still challenge the leaders.

Cheung said that the growth figures indicated security is a major priority for ICT firms in the Asia Pacific and growth is expected to remain strong throughout 2009.

“This growth is remarkable considering in the fourth quarter of 2008, global economies began to feel the impact of the credit crunch and the global economic downturn,” he said.

Gartner’s Security Summit will take place in Sydney next month.

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