Security services vendors in line for big bucks

Worldwide spending on security services will peak at $35.1 billion (22 billion) this year, an analyst firm has claimed.

This is up from $31.1 billion in 2010, Gartner said, forecasting the market will continue to grow to $38.3 billion in 2012 and around $49.1 billion in 2015, Gartner said.

"The security services market has changed rapidly over the last several years with a growing number of security technology providers offering their technologies as services, and customers often preferring services to save on operational costs," said Lawrence Pingree, research director at Gartner.

Gartner expects growth in each area of services, including consulting, development and integration, IT management, software support and hardware maintenance and support.

The security services market has changed rapidly over the last several years with a growing number of security technology providers offering their technologies as services.

The IT management segment of security services will almost double, jumping from $8 billion to $14.9 billion by 2015, the analyst firm said.

North America is the largest market for security services spending, with revenue predicted to exceed $14.6 billion in 2012. Western Europe, spending will reach $11.9 billion, whilst in Asia, spending will total $4.7 billion.

Gartner is encouraging smaller vendors to invest in strategies that stay relevant in emerging markets, as the big players already have strong positions in developed nations.

"For the larger, more-established security services providers that already have an extensive North American presence, it may make the most sense to focus efforts on regions with higher growth rates and less overall services market revenue penetration," Pingree added.