Enterprise security spend set to double

An increasing tide of global hack attacks, cyber-terrorism and viruses will see worldwide enterprise investment in firewall and virtual private network (VPN) systems almost double to $6bn (£3bn) over the next three years.

According to market watcher Datamonitor, home working and the push for anywhere-anytime access for workers are also key spending drivers, especially for secure sockets layer (SSL) VPNs.

In terms of vertical sales, Datamonitor said it expects investment in security systems by the government, utilities and pharmaceutical sectors to show the most rapid rise.

"The potential terrorist attacks threatening the national infrastructure of a target country are very real, leaving this sector very aware of the threat from cyber-terrorists," said the study, Firewall and VPN solutions.

"The obvious need for utilities to secure their networks will account for expenditure of $900m by 2007."

The financial services sector, the analyst noted, is considered by many vendors to be a major vertical in the firewall and VPN solution market, and will remain so through 2007.

Increased demand for mobile access and the need for businesses to retain key personnel through more flexible working practices will see enterprise investment in SSL VPNS rise from $120m in 2003 to just over $1bn in 2007, the study found.

Helen Toft, associate analyst in Datamonitor's enterprise security team, predicted further aggressive moves by vendors as they battle for market share.

"The recent acquisitions in this market, such as Neoteris by Netscreen - who in turn has been acquired by Juniper Networks - and Safe Web by Symantec, show the aggressive positioning of vendors to gain market share in the high-growth SSL VPN market and such strategies will no doubt continue in the future," she said.