Worldwide spending on risk management to hit US$215 bn in 2024: Gartner

Worldwide spending on security and risk management is projected to hit US$215 billion next year, according to a new forecast from Gartner.

This spending is up 14.3 percent from 2023 where spending is estimated to total $188.1 billion.

Spending on data privacy and cloud security is projected to record the highest growth rates in 2024, with each segment increasing more than 24 percent year-over-year.

Privacy remains a top organisational priority as regulations that impact the processing of personal data continue to emerge, including those related to the use of AI. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 75 percent of the world’s population will have its personal data covered by modern privacy regulations.

Shailendra Upadhyay, senior research principal at Gartner said the continuous adoption of cloud, continuous hybrid workforce, rapid emergence and use of generative AI, and the evolving regulatory environment are forcing security and risk management (SRM) leaders to enhance their security and risk management spending.

“At the same time, they are focusing their efforts by adopting technical security capabilities that provide far greater visibility and responsiveness across the organisation’s entire digital ecosystem and restructuring the way the security function operates to enable agility without compromising security,” Upadhyay said.

The continued growth in public cloud services will bolster spending on cloud security tools.

In the cloud security segment, the combined spending on cloud access security brokers software (CASB) and cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP) is projected to total $7 billion in 2024, up 24.7 percent from 2023.

Demand for cloud-based detection and response solutions — such as endpoint detection and response (EDR) and managed detection and response (MDR) — is also expected to increase in 2024.

Upadhyay urged business leaders to have a cyber program.

“In light of cyber risks increasing, cyber threats proliferating and a changing operating environment, it is more critical than ever for organisations to build and optimise a cybersecurity program,” he said.

“It is the cornerstone of cybersecurity initiatives which help SRM leaders secure new environments, protect against the expanded attack surface, consume security capabilities in new ways and create better efficiencies through automation.”

Spending on security services – consulting, IT outsourcing, implementation and hardware support –is forecast to total $90 billion in 2024, an increase of 11 percent from 2023.

Security services are expected to represent 42 percent of total security and risk management end-user spending in 2024 and to remain the largest area of security and risk management spending in 2024.