IT security spend in SA is expected to grow to almost R3 billion in 2009, from R1.26 billion last year, according to a BMI-TechKnowledge forecast.
The services component is expected to achieve an 18.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to R1.09 billion in 2009 from R464.8 million last year. It is expected to reach R648.4 million next year.
Software spend is forecast to show a CAGR of 16.7%, from R585.8 million last year to R1.27 billion in 2009, reaching R798.8 million next year.
Hardware, forecast to reach R317.7 million next year, is expected to experience a 22.6% CAGR from R213 million last year to R589 million in 2009.
Overall, IT security spend in SA grew by 16% last year, with software accounting for 46.4% of the market, services 36.8% and hardware 16.9%.
BMI-T analyst Roy Blume says the percentage growth rate in security spend is outstripping growth in overall IT spending.
"People are now realising that information has a rands and cents value, and when people put a rands and cents value on something they take it more seriously."
The research shows that the best-performing areas are intrusion detection and prevention. Blume says anti-virus is a reactive environment. "A virus now goes around the world in seconds. It used to be days or weeks," he comments.
More proactive
"People want to be more proactive, so they want intrusion detection and prevention." Demand for managed security services is also driving growth in the services component of the security market.
Other drivers of growth in the market include the rise of blended threats, the regulatory environment, the proliferation of broadband Internet access and wireless, spam and spyware.
The firm`s research also shows that the business continuity market grew to R436 million at the end of last year, a 9% increase from 2003, with the greatest uptake from banks and financial services, utilities providers and telecommunications providers.
Hardware accounted for 51% of that market, followed by software (40%) and services (9%). The local business continuity market is expected to grow to more than R700 million by 2009.
Blume says the 9% growth last year was in line with growth in the overall IT market, but off a smaller base.
There is still an enormous gap between the amount of data being generated and expenditure on business continuity solutions.
Blume says large companies in SA are doing what is needed to ensure security and business continuity, but smaller companies are missing the mark.
"I don`t think most local companies are doing enough," he says. He adds that the "big players" have satisfactory measures in place, but "the lower you go down the less you`ve got".
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