Gulf state security software spending to rise 27% in 2004

Spending on security software rose by 25.5% to $52.59 million in the Gulf States in 2003 and is expected to rise 27% in 2004. According to a new IDC study, viruses, worms, and spam are widely considered to be the largest security threats to businesses in the Gulf, and secure content management applications dominate the market. IT maturity, security awareness, and security adoption rates vary considerably across the region, which has created discrete IT security markets where holistic implementation often takes a back seat to specific threats.