Security threats calls for precautionary measures?

Mounting security concerns and rising vulnerability to viruses, privacy breaches, unauthorised accessibility and hacking incidents, are encouraging increased spending on the implementation of security products.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the omnipresent risk of corporate networks grinding to a halt through security compromises will trigger growth in the European content security market.

A new study by Frost & Sullivan, the international marketing consulting company, reveals a high level of interest in the deployment of anti-malware, content filtering and content encryption software.

The fortunes of the content security market are closely tied to the rising ubiquity of the internet and e-mail usage amongst enterprises, which are showing signs of becoming integral to business processes. The realisation amongst companies that security is essential for their integrity will push the market towards its potential.

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Demand in the market for content security has been high, mainly because of the strength of the anti-virus market. Total sales in the European internet content security market are expected to grow from $524.6 million in 2000 to $3.13 billion in 2007.

Although the main thrust of revenues for the content security market is currently being generated in the anti-virus sector, Frost & Sullivan believes that content security and encryption will evolve in important aspects of a complete security solution.

The market for anti-malware products has benefited from rise in uptake of anti-virus software across Europe, as it is commonly accepted that these solutions are needed for the defence of a network. Malicious mobile code monitoring will experience high growth over the forecast period, but will become subsumed into other markets and solutions.

High levels of media coverage surrounding security scares and computer viruses, such as Melissa and the "_blank"="" class="c-regularLink" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Love Bug, will continue to stimulate sales. The overall share of the anti-virus market, however, is set to diminish to 38.5 per cent in 2007, a far cry from its 2000 share of 80.0 per cent.

Frost & Sullivan expects the highest growth to derive from content filtering sales, expected to outperform all competitive technologies currently available on the market. The combination of influences which lie behind the emergence of content filtering includes the increased corporate use of e-mail and the internet. Furthermore, companies are more focused on controlling employee’s ethical usage of the internet.

The content filtering market is expected to step up its rapid expansion, becoming the dominant market by the end of the forecast period, when it will account for 43.4 per cent.

The incorporation of content encryption products, accounting for 7.2 per cent of total sales in 2000, is poised for a huge upswing. This is underpinned by the introduction of data protection legislation, pushing sales from $38.0 million in 2000 to $1.36 billion by the end of the study period in 2007.

Geographically, the market for content security is affected by a number of factors, including the degree of corporate internet usage and the levels of legislation concerning encryption import, data protection and data privacy.

Another crucial factor for growth is the density of large enterprises, which are the heaviest investors in the technology of this market. For this reason, the UK, Germany and France claim the largest chunks of the total market.

The leading anti-virus vendors, Network Associates and Symantec, have taken a firm grip on the European content security market. These companies, along with the other top vendors, are making significant headway into the other submarkets.

The study concludes that content filtering is fast becoming the most sought-after power in the internet content security market. The development of this technology will be driven by the increasing competition between the leading contenders.

Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that monitors a comprehensive spectrum of high-tech markets, including the network security sector, for market trends, market measurements and strategies. This ongoing research is utilised to complement a series of research publications to support industry participants with customised consulting needs.