Gartner: APAC Security Market Grew 28.3 Percent In 2008

The APAC security market grew at a rate of 28.3 percent in 2008, down from 36 percent in 2007, according to Gartner. Despite a slower growth rate, the results show that the security market did not suffer a significant impact from the economic downturn, said the research firm.

"This growth is remarkable considering in the fourth quarter of 2008, global economies began to feel the impact of the credit crunch and the economic downturn," said Matthew Cheung, Senior research analyst, Gartner. "Double digit growth in a challenging economic climate confirms that security remains a key priority for APAC CIOs and IT security leaders," he added.

According to Gartner, data security and privacy, along with the need to protect IT infrastructure from attacks in APAC, were among the drivers fueling the growth of IT security software spending. For organizations operating in markets such as Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, compliance was a major driver.

The Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Security Information Event Management (SIEM) and e-mail security market segments demonstrated the highest growth at 48 percent, 31.1 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively. Consumer security and enterprise endpoint protection remained the largest sub-segments of the APAC security market in 2008, totaling $1.08 billion, said Gartner.

"The region is vibrant and fast-growing, which is fostered by the need for modernization," said Cheung. "Demand for IT security in emerging markets such as China is high, and even other fast-emerging economies, such as Vietnam and Indonesia. APAC is viewed as a long-term sustainable market, amid the recession," he added.

According to Gartner, Symantec continued to be the market leader, accounting for 22 percent of security software revenue in APAC in 2008. McAfee experienced the strongest growth rate, as its revenue increased 30.1 percent in 2008.

Emerging markets in APAC are expected to provide the highest growth opportunities over the coming years, although mature markets are expected to provide sustainable levels of investment, said Gartner.

Purchasing attitudes point to an increase in the popularity of security products delivered as SaaS or as an appliance, for technologies such as e-mail security and SWG, Gartner added.

Estimates for 2009 predict that security will produce good growth levels, although the impact of the recession will result in a decrease in spending and fall of growth rates to around half the levels achieved in 2008, said Gartner.