Global software security market grew 3.7% to $22.1 bn in 2015: Gartner

As data and information security becomes critical for the survival of enterprises globally, with cyber attacks becoming sophisticated by the day, there is a growing number of smaller software security companies providing niche solutions that are eating into the revenues of the top-most security players.

On Monday, a report by Gartner Inc said while the global software security market revenue touched $22.1 billion in 2015, up 3.7 per cent from the year-ago period, the combined market share for the top five vendors was down 3.1 percentage points from 2014, together accounting for 37.6 per cent of the total.

The top-five security vendors, which include Symantec, Intel, IBM, Trend Micro and EMC also displayed a collective decline of 4.2 per cent in 2015, while the rest of the market (Others) grew strongly at 9.2 per cent year on year.

“The below-market growth seen by these large vendors with complex product portfolios is in contrast to the market growth and disruption being introduced by smaller, more specialised security software vendors,” said Sid Deshpande, principal research analyst at Gartner.

Security information and event management (SIEM) remained the fastest-growing segment in 2015, with 15.8 percent growth, while consumer security software showed the sharpest decline at 5.9 percent year on year, the report noted.

Symantec maintained the No. 1 position despite the company suffering its third consecutive year of revenue decline and its highest decline in revenue over a three-year period, the report said adding, its security software revenue declined 6.2 per cent to $3.4 billion.

Intel’s security software revenue also declined in 2015, with revenue falling 4.1 per cent to $1.75 billion.

IBM was the only one of the top five vendors to show growth. IBM’s security software revenue grew 2.5 per cent to total $1.45 billion in 2015, driven by its positive performance in the SIEM segment and its significant services business.