Study: Network security market growth driven by remote work

Frost & Sullivan, an American business consulting firm, has recently carried out an analysis of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) network security (NWS) market and has found that the increasing acceptance of remote work and adoption of cloud, the remote workplace, collaboration, and security are driving growth. 

The urgent adoption of remote work due to the pandemic has led to investments in upgrading security control systems to protect remote employees. Additionally, the increased number of highly sophisticated cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure and government organisations is driving organisations and businesses in the region to increase their investment in cybersecurity technologies to strengthen their threat detection and response capabilities. 

As a result, the market is estimated to hit $7.32 billion by 2025 from $5.12 billion in 2020, registering steady growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4%.

“From a technology perspective, as demand for secure software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) and secure cloud edge services solutions soars, the network firewall segment will continue to be the leading force for the overall NWS market growth over the forecast period,” said Vivien Pua, Information & Communication Technology Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Similarly, the secure remote access segment is expected to maintain its strong growth momentum, mainly fueled by the increasing need for high-performance, secure remote access that has been soaring due to work-from-home environments.”

Businesses ramping up security due to the pandemic 

Organisations around the globe have been increasing their investments in cybersecurity technologies, presenting growth prospects for network security market participants, such as:

• A surge in the replacement of threat prevention platforms in the short term: The need for high-performance, integrated, and automated threat management platforms will lead many large enterprises to refresh and replace systems.
• Short-term demand for secure remote access and zero-trust network access: Vendors need to review their channel partner strategy to drive better business outcomes and channel partner engagement.
• Increasing demand for secure SD-WAN: Vendors should work closely with their regional channel partners to educate the market and offer support to help businesses achieve their goals.
• Increasing need for critical infrastructure (CI) protection: Market participants should focus on security solutions to protect CI from cyberattacks. They may need to expand their product or service offerings to include industrial control system security/operational technology security solutions in their portfolios.

Pua added: “On a macro level, stringent regulatory compliance around data privacy and protection continues to be a key market driver, particularly for highly regulated industries, such as BFSI, government, telecommunications, and healthcare, and sectors that have the critical infrastructure.”