Enterprises set to splash out on security

Security software and services will make up a higher percentage of total IT budgets over the year ahead, as security related expenditure continues to show above average increases during 2010, according to Gartner.

Investment in security software is expected to grow at a rate of four percent next year, while the amount of money spent on security services is predicted to rise by 2.74 percent, outpacing growth in all equivalent IT sectors.

"When evaluating and planning 2010 security budgets, organisations should work to achieve a realistic view of current spending, and recognise that it may be impossible to capture all security related spending because of organisationally diffused security budgets," said principal Gartner research analyst Ruggero Contu.

However, Contu indicated that enterprises should also understand that the emergence of new threats and vulnerabilities may require additional, unallocated expenditure.

As a result, the analyst advised that companies should consider ring-fencing up to 15 percent of the IT security budget to "address the potential risks and impact of such unforeseen issues".

Hot button topics in the security software segment include security information and event management, email security, URL filtering and user provisioning, said the analyst.

Key drivers for growth in the services space, however, include managed security services, cloud-based email and web security offerings and third-party compliance related consulting and vulnerability audits and scans.