Cybersecurity investment expected to increase 10% in 2021

Cybersecurity spending is likely to increase 10 per cent worldwide in 2021 in the best-case scenario, according to recent estimates by Canalys.

The overall cybersecurity market value is expected to reach $60.2 billion this year, as per the report. This includes shipments of endpoint security, network security, web and email security, data security, vulnerability and security analytics, and identity access management.

“Cybersecurity will remain a high priority this year, as the range of threats broadens and new vulnerabilities emerge, while the frequency of attacks is unlikely to subside,” Canalys said as per an official press release.

“The first half of the year will be affected by ongoing lockdown restrictions and furloughs in response to the pandemic. Covid-19 vaccine approvals and the start of mass vaccination programs have set a time-frame for reopening economies and a sustained global recovery from mid-year,” it said.

Even in the worst-case scenario, the outlook is positive with the potential for annual growth of 6.6 per cent.

Cybersecurity budgets have remained resilient during Covid-19 so far.

“SMB spending was affected though, and workforce reductions and furloughs hurt some renewals and multi-year deals, especially in the hardest-hit sectors, including hospitality, retail and transport. Supply chain issues were also a factor in hardware fulfilment earlier in 2020 but have since eased,” Canalys said.

Remote working

The focus on security will remain high as businesses are on their way to digital transformation as well as due to remote working. Apart from this, the increase in cyberattacks in 2020, especially ransomware attacks is a major contributing factor. Healthcare and education sectors have been the primary targets.

“The biggest threats are always those not yet known. The discovery of the SUNBURST advanced persistent threat campaign at the end of 2020, stemming from malicious code injected into the widely used SolarWinds Orion IT management platform and subsequent infiltration into other systems, highlights this,” said Matthew Ball, Canalys Chief Analyst.

“Cybersecurity professional services engagements in response to this latest issue will be one of many factors contributing to sustained investment this year, especially in newer solutions to mitigate emerging threats. Growth in add-on subscriptions providing new features, products to secure the cloud and delivered from the cloud, and upgrades to existing solutions will be key drivers for expansion. The need for organizations to adopt multi-layered and holistic approaches, combining employee awareness training, data protection and backup, threat and vulnerability detection, and response will remain critical,” Ball said.

Web and email security

Web and email security are expected to grow 12.5 per cent in 2021 while vulnerability and security analytics will increase 11 per cent, as per the report.

Growth in endpoint security is expected to slow down to 10.4 per cent after a strong 2020.

“Network security will be the largest segment, increasing 8 per cent, driven by the restart of delayed upgrade projects,” the report said.

Data security is expected to grow 6.6 per cent, focusing on protection, backup and recovery as well as consistent policies across multi-cloud and hybrid-IT environments, it said.