The South African information technology security market is expected to grow to R1,057-billion in 2003 and R1,978-billion by 2007, according to the South African Security Products and Services 2003 report, published by ICT market analysts BMI- TechKnowledge.
Iain Machanick, analyst at BMI-T and co-author of the report, says the local IT security hardware and software and services market was worth R912-million in 2002, 20% up from 2001 and is expected to grow at 16% to R1,057-billion in 2003.
Security software comprises 48% of this market, followed by services with a 35% market share and hardware with a 17% market share.
BMI-T believes that viral and harder-to-detect “blended threats” or “hybrid worms” will become increasingly common while the industry is expected to return to 3A security (administration, authorisation, and authentication) based on increased activity in the security management area.
“The South African market represents a growth opportunity for security vendors, particularly services vendors as end-users attempt to make sense of the maze of products available in the market.
“Companies will continue to require assistance with the development of an enterprise-wide risk management strategy to mitigate any potential liabilities and to provide a trusted environment for stakeholders, including customers, employees, partners, and suppliers,” concluded Machanick. – I-Net Bridge