INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security
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Security spend on the rise
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T
he global cybersecurity market
is booming, and security spend
has already started outpacing IT
spend. Adoption in South Africa is not yet
growing at the same rate, but there is a
strong growth in interest and understanding
the requirement to do more to protect
themselves from cyber threats. This is
according to security expert and J2 Software
CEO John McLoughlin, who says the demand
for cybersecurity solutions is growing
rapidly and businesses around the globe are
investing heavily in security.
Annual global cyber losses are expected to
hit US$6 trillion by 2021, with cybersecurity
spending projected to exceed a total of
US$1 trillion for the five years leading up
to 2021. This is according to a report from
Cybersecurity Ventures that suggests the
immediate costs of a cyberattack can be
significant, but the damage to a business’s
reputation could cost just as much or even
more in the long term.
With the ever-increasing cybersecurity risks
and regulations being introduced, business
leaders are fast realising that there is more
to be protected and serious penalties for
not complying. According to the Worldwide
Security Spending Guide from International
Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide
spending on security solutions will achieve
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of
9.2% over the 2018 to 2022 forecast period
and total US$133.8 billion in 2022.
The report says worldwide spending on
security-related software, hardware and
services is forecast to reach US$103.1 billion
in 2019, an increase of 9.4% over 2018.
McLoughlin says more regulations and
higher customer expectations has caused
more companies to further invest in security
and this will ensure that the market will
keep expanding.
“The increased awareness levels of
consumer privacy and protection of personal
information has raised the bar for companies
to improve their security,” he said.
Providing a secure business environment is
every company’s concern and cybersecurity
must be an investment priority in every
business, regardless of industry or
size. However, it is a higher priority for
information-based organisations like
professional services firms, banks, financial
institutions, insurance companies, telcos,
municipalities and power utilities that
appear to be ramping up their spending.
J2 Software CEO, John McLoughlin
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“These industries are already experiencing
paralysing attacks that stop critical services
such as electricity and water supply,” added
McLoughlin. “These crippling cyberattacks
will ultimately result in increased spend as
they cause unprecedented loss of revenue.”
Security is taking on a new shape and is
being integrated into new business initiatives
and used as a competitive advantage.
No one wants to be breached and once
consumers are affected, they will fear
working with companies they don’t trust.
As the world becomes more software-driven
and new tech enters the security realm,
cybercrime inevitably intensifies. This will
grow the security market significantly, it will
keep developing and growing and at an even
greater rate than before.
IDC predicts the biggest spend will be on
managed security services for monitoring
and management of security operations
centres. The next largest spend category
is network security, which includes unified
threat management, firewalls, and intrusion
detection and prevention technologies.
Other investments include integration
services and next generation endpoint
security software.
The security landscape is changing rapidly
as businesses worldwide continue to struggle
to maintain their own in-house security
solutions. They are now turning to managed
security service providers (MSSPs) to deliver
a wide range of security solutions and
consulting services.
“To prepare companies against future
attacks and to overcome the security
challenges of tomorrow, they need expert
analysis, predicative threat intelligence and
advanced detection,” said McLoughlin. n
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