Security software spend hit $7.4bn in 2005

Worldwide security software revenues totalled $7.4bn in 2005

A boost in the amount of antivirus software sold in 2005 helped to push revenues in the security market up by 14.8 per cent, according to figures from Gartner. 

Worldwide security software revenues totalled $7.4bn (£3.94bn) in 2005, up from $6.4bn in 2004.

Revenues for antivirus software totalled $4bn (£2.1bn) in 2005, accounting for 54.3 per cent of the total security software industry.

Symantec continued to lead the market, taking 53.6 per cent of the antivirus revenue and 32.2 per cent of worldwide security revenue. 

"Security spending remained a priority for organisations 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.

The analyst explained that the current technology trend is towards endpoint security suites.

"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, " she said.

"Because of the changing threat landscape, security software vendors will need to include more functionality at a more competitive price."