Gartner Says Worldwide Security Software Revenue Totaled $7.4 Billion in 2005

Report Provides Detailed Market Share Results by Region and Segment for the Security Software Industry

STAMFORD, Conn., September 12, 2006 — Driven by continued growth in the antivirus software market, worldwide security software revenue totaled $7.4 billion in 2005, a 14.8 percent increase from 2004 revenue of $6.4 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. Antivirus software revenue totaled $4 billion in 2005, and it accounted for 54.3 percent of the total security software industry.

“Security spending remained a priority for organizations in 2005, and the industry will continue to experience strong growth for the next few years as compliance and government regulations continue to play a significant role in security spending decisions,” said Nicole Latimer-Livingston, principal research analyst at Gartner.

“Currently, the major technology trend is moving in the direction of endpoint security suites of products. The market for individual desktop security products is converging, and the market opportunity for stand-alone, signature-based antivirus products, stand-alone anti-spyware products and stand-alone personal firewalls is limited. Because of the changing threat landscape, security software vendors will need to include more functionality at a more competitive price,” Ms. Latimer-Livingston said.

Symantec continued to lead the security software market in 2005, as its market share totaled 32.2 percent of worldwide revenue (see Table 1). Symantec continued to be the dominant vendor in the antivirus segment, as its sales accounted for 53.6 percent of the market. 

Table 1
Worldwide: Security Software Revenue Estimates for 2005 (U.S. Dollars)

Company	2005  Revenue	2005 Market Share (%)	2004 Revenue	2004 Market Share (%)	2004-2005 Growth (%)
Symantec	2,381.6	32.2	2,077.9	32.2	14.6
McAfee	918.1	12.4	816.3	12.7	12.5
Trend Micro	630.0	8.5	550.8	8.5	14.4
CA	438.2	5.9	398.2	6.2	10.1
IBM	299.0	4.0	280.5	4.4	6.6
Other Vendors	2,733.3	37.0	2,322.6	36.0	17.1
Total	7,400.2	100.0	6,446.3	100.0	14.8

Source: Gartner Dataquest (September 2006)

The fastest growth segment within the security software market was the e-mail security boundary market. This segment grew 34.2 percent in 2005, as revenue totaled $393.9 million in 2005. The market accounted for 7.1 percent of the total security software industry.

“The e-mail security boundary market is volatile, both from a technology and a business operations perspective,” Ms. Latimer-Livingston said. “E-mail security will continue to require best-of-breed investments, and companies should consider that this market is poised for further consolidation.”

An increasing need for customers to meet compliance requirements, as well as a continued need for near-real-time awareness of external and internal threats, is driving the security information and event management (SIEM) market. The SIEM software market grew by more than 29 percent in 2005 to more than $281 million.

Compliance is also driving growth in the user provisioning market. This segment grew 19.7 percent in 2005, with revenue $753.3 million. “Regulatory compliance was the No. 1 driver for a user provisioning implementation in the past 18 months, and it will continue to be for the next 24 to 36 months,” Ms. Latimer-Livingston said. “The need to reduce administration costs and make operations more efficient is the next common two drivers.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner Dataquest report “Market Share: Security Software, Worldwide, 2005”. The report provides detailed market share results for the security software industry by market segment and region. This report is available on Gartner’s Web site at http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=495397&subref=simplesearch.

Gartner has traditionally measured market share in terms of new license revenue. However, due to the emergence and increasing popularity of open-source software and buyer consumption models, such as hosted and subscription offerings, Gartner has moved to measure market share in terms of total software revenue, which includes revenue generated from new license, updates, subscriptions and hosting, technical support and maintenance. Professional services and hardware revenue are not included in total software revenue.

Gartner analysts will provide additional insight into the state of the IT security industry during the Gartner IT Security Summit, September 18-19, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Gartner analysts and Europe’s most senior practitioners will gather to examine the issues that are most important for every security professional. More information regarding the Summit is available at www.europe.gartner.com/security. To register for the event, please contact Laurence Goasduff, PR Gartner at laurence.goasduff@gartner.com or on + 44 1784 267 195.

 

Contacts:


Tom McCall
Gartner
+1 408 468 8312
tom.mccall@gartner.com

Laurence Goasduff
Gartner
+ 44 1784 267 195
laurence.goasduff@gartner.com


About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.