Network security is back in Vogue!!

Network security is back at the top of CIOs` agendas following a period of stunted growth, new figures from Synergy Research suggest.

After experiencing flat sales in the second quarter, the global market for firewall/VPN, IDS/IPS and SSL VPN products roared up 10 per cent year-on-year in the three months to September to breach the $1.2bn barrier, according to the research house`s latest stats.

Revenues also clambered a solid nine per cent sequentially, prompting Synergy to assert that network security build-out `remains a critical IT priority`, particularly among large enterprises and service providers.

Once again it was the SSL VPN sub-segment - where sales bounced 47 per cent year-on-year and eight per cent sequentially - that lit up the market. The IDS/IPS sub-segment more than held its own with 15 per cent annual and 11 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth, while the commoditised firewall sector pushed out more muted growth of seven per cent and nine per cent on the same basis.

And Synergy noticed another trend emerging during the quarter. “The market continues to be driven by tighter network integration, the integration of multiple functions onto a single device, local and remote network access initiatives, more robust perimeter solutions, regulatory standards compliance, and service provider managed security services,” offers senior analyst Aaron Vance.

Synergy declined to give EMEA vendor breakdowns, but just a quick glance at its US data indicates Cisco enjoyed another scintillating quarter. As well as retaining poll position in the firewall/VPN and IDS/IPS markets, the networking supernova also clambered to fourth in the SSL VPN sector courtesy of a 72 per cent sequential sales rise. It wasn`t even in the top five in the previous quarter.
www.synergyresearch.co.uk