Gartner has predicted worldwide security spending will increase by eight percent in 2018, to reach a value of $96 billion (71.72 billion) by the end of the year because of regulatory change, mindset and a growing awareness of threats.
The research firm expects spending on Identity Access Management to increase the most, with gains of 9.7% between 2017 and 2018, while security services are expected to increase by eight percent. Other growth opportunities include Infrastructure Protection with a 7.15% year-on-year increase, Network Security Equipment (6.29%) and Consumer Security Software (2.29%).
"Overall, a large portion of security spending is driven by an organisation's reaction toward security breaches as more high profile cyber attacks and data breaches affect organisations worldwide," said Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner.
"Cyber attacks such as WannaCry and NotPetya, and most recently the Equifax breach, have a direct effect on security spend, because these types of attacks last up to three years."
New regulations including the GDPR in Europe, plus Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, National Institute of Standards and Technology in the US and China'a Cybersecurity Law mean businesses are encouraged to invest more in their security tech.
Gartner thinks up to 60% of businesses will use multiple security tools such as data loss prevention, encryption and data-centric audit and protection tools to keep on top of incoming regulations by 2018 - compared to just 35% at the moment.
Businesses are also more open to outsourcing security services because they don't have the in-house skills to deal with changing legislation.
"Skill sets are scarce and therefore remain at a premium, leading organisations to seek external help from security consultants, managed security service providers and outsourcers," Contu added. "In 2018, spending on security outsourcing services will total $18.5 billion, an 11 percent increase from 2017.
"This increased focus on detection and response to security incidents has enabled technologies such as endpoint detection and response, and user entity and behaviour analytics to disrupt traditional markets such as endpoint protection platforms and SIEM," Contu added.
