Security market "worth $5.5bn by 2008"

The security software and appliance market rose by 30 per cent last year and is predicted to be worth $5.5billion worldwide by 2008 according to a new report.

The figures, by analysts Infonetics Research, show growth in all security categories except the Firewall/VPN market. Last year revenue topped $3.7billion for the whole market.

The strong growth is being attributed to factors such as new viruses, malware and hacking attacks. Analysts said these were "compelling companies of all sizes to invest in security". The main growth appears to be in integrated security appliances, as more functions become absorbed by these products.

"VPN and firewall appliances are the backbone of network security, and will continue to function as such for a long time," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics Research. "New technologies will appear, and often start life as standalone products, but eventually their key features will be absorbed into the multi-function VPN/firewall appliances. IPS and gateway anti-virus technology are good examples of this."

The growth comes after a flurry of activity in the market as companies merge and acquire other firms. As reported in SC here Symantec and Veritas announced a tie up of their companies in December last year. MCI also bought up managed security provider NetSec for $105m in January.