Gartner Says Worldwide Security Software Revenue Will Reach $9.1 Billion in 2007

STAMFORD, Conn., February 1, 2007 — Driven by continued growth in the antivirus software market, worldwide security software revenue is expected to total $9.1 billion in 2007, a 10.7 percent increase over 2006 revenue of $8.2 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. Antivirus software revenue is expected to total $4.9 billion in 2007, and will account for 53.8 percent of the total security software industry.

“Prioritizing, choosing and maintaining security technologies will continue to be top issues for enterprises in 2007,” said Nicole Latimer-Livingston, principal research analyst at Gartner. “This is being driven as companies and government agencies face continuing pressure to demonstrate compliance with the spirit and the letter of the law under various regulatory requirements, and to show business value and cost-effectiveness for security measures.”

The antivirus market will continue to lead the security software market in 2007, but because of changing threats, there is a long-term technology shift away from complete reliance on signature-based antivirus defenses to more- predictive proactive defenses. All vendors in the enterprise antivirus market are working on road maps for converged clients (not necessarily a single product or even a single install, but products that can be managed together and are one stock-keeping units) with anti-spyware, personal firewalls, intrusion prevention system (IPS) software, and policy enforcement (aka network access control).

“The move to converged endpoint suites will be a long road,” said Ms. Latimer-Livingston. “The enterprise desktop is closely guarded and the IT buying center is leery of introducing new technology that may inhibit user experience and increase costs. The high cost of administration, issues with false positives and interference with software distribution have been barriers to adoption for most enterprises. Companies are not rapidly moving to antivirus suites with IPS or personal firewall functionality, despite some attractive licensing incentives.”

Gartner forecasts that for the next 18 months, less than 15 percent of enterprise clients will purchase licenses for converged clients for their entire desktop population. Enterprise adoption of converged clients will slowly increase, and by year-end 2009, 35 percent of enterprises will have purchased deployed converged clients.

Security is becoming more complex and difficult for a single vendor to handle. Customers require products that integrate with their security architecture rather than disconnected point solutions and it is essential for large and small players to partner with best-of-breed vendors. Only those vendors offering good integrated production, based on an already established and trusted technological partnership, will be best placed for success.

“Customers prefer to deal with two or more vendors that already trust each other’s products and practices,” said Ms. Latimer-Livingston. “As security software is increasingly imbedded in hardware, it is essential for software vendors, particularly those offering fast-growing niche solutions to partner with key hardware vendors to obtain preferential entrance into the marketplace. This relationship can be a good starting point for future developments.”

Additional information is available in the Gartner Dataquest report “Market Trends: Security Markets, Worldwide, 2005-2010”. The report looks at the factors driving growth in the security market. This report is available on Gartner’s Web site at www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=499972&subref=simplesearch.

Additional information and practical advice on all aspects of IT security will be presented at the Gartner IT Security Summit, taking place June 4-6 in Washington D.C. The Gartner IT Security Summit hits the critical spot between strategic planning and tactical advice. Gartner analysts, industry experts and IT security practitioners deliver unbiased, realistic analysis on the current state of IT security, as well as an independent overview of the market during the next 12-18 months.

Covering the depth and breadth of topics comprising IT security today, the Gartner IT Security Summit has a single objective: to bring to light the repeatable, manageable security processes needed to address today's and tomorrow's threats. For complete event details please visit the Gartner IT Security Summit Web site at www.gartner.com/us/itsecurity. Members of the media can register by contacting Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.

 

Contact:


Christy Pettey
Gartner
+1 408 468 8312
christy.pettey@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.