UK and Ireland Spending on IT Security Expected to Double in 2005

IDC estimates that enterprises in the UK and Ireland will more than double their spending on IT security solutions in 2005. The analysts' market forecast is based on surveys conducted during IDC security conferences held in the UK and Ireland in 2004.

“As the complexity of IT infrastructures has increased, so has the sophistication of security threats,” said Duncan Brown, director of consulting at IDC in the UK. “This new research demonstrates that enterprises are increasingly aware of the potential threats throughout the business. As well as spending on the traditional virus protection and firewalls they plan to invest in 3A software [authentication, authorisation and administration], plus intrusion detection and protection software. Security hardware is also demonstrating similar maturation with increasing spend being directed towards biometrics, tokens and/or smart cards for network or appliance authentication, and hardware based intrusion detection appliances.”
The research, presented in the study "Opportunities and Challenges in the Maturing IT Security Market: Market Trends in the UK and Ireland" (IDC #SR21L, October 2004), highlights that although the issues are understood, there continues to be confusion in the market regarding the many security solutions available. Asked what the three main hurdles were when choosing security solutions, respondents highlighted:

Confusion in the market place due to the large amount of security solutions available
Lack of unbiased information on products
The need to keep up to date with patches

“This issue has arisen time and time again in IDC research," said Brown. "Security affects every aspect of business operations, but the growth in the number and complexity of solutions available has led to fragmented product sets and feature-based selling, which turns customers off. With so many vendors, we will see some consolidation in the market. The security vendors that are here for the long haul will be the ones that work to integrate their products, educate their sales teams on how solutions can work together and offer practical advice to customers.”

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