Australia 2nd to China in APAC security software market

Peter Dinham
Sunday, 16 August 2009 14:34

Business IT - Security

Gartner said that in 2008, the largest security markets in Asia Pacific were - in order - China, Australia and South Korea, with China, Indonesia and Vietnam the most dynamic, achieving over 30 percent growth.

“The region is vibrant and fast-growing, which is fostered by the need for modernization,” said Cheung. “Demand for IT security in emerging markets such as China is high, and even other small countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, are considered fast-emerging economies.  Asia Pacific is viewed as a large long-term sustainable market, especially amid the global economic recession.”

 As the biggest security market in Asia Pacific, Cheung said China had the fastest growth of 39.4 per cent, which he attributed to the high growth of local security players, such as Rising and Kingsoft, the heavy spending on Olympic Games in 2008 and the rapid increase in foreign investments. Other drivers included the modernisation of IT infrastructure and domestic demand in the country.

Cheung also said that the top five vendors held nearly half of the market at 47.8 percent, and the combined top five vendors' market share was gradually falling in favour of smaller players, “a sign that security remains a dynamic market where smaller players, new entrants and specialist vendors rise to become an effective challenge to the established leaders.”

According to Gartner, Symantec continues to be the market leader, accounting for 22 percent of security software revenue in Asia Pacific in 2008. However, the company's market share was down from 2007 when it accounted for 22.8 per cent of the market.
 
Gartner reports that McAfee experienced the strongest growth rate among the top five vendors, as its revenue increased 30.1 percent in 2008. Local players from China exhibited the highest levels of growth in 2008, according to Gartner, with other fast-growing vendors in the region including McAfee and Cisco.

Emerging markets in Asia Pacific are expected to provide the highest growth opportunities over the coming years, although according to Gartner, the more mature markets are expected to provide sustainable levels of investment.

Gartner says that purchasing attitudes point to an increase in popularity in security products delivered as software as a service (SaaS) or as an appliance, particularly for certain technologies such as e-mail security and SWG, and the firm estimates for 2009 predict that security will produce good growth levels, “although the full impact of the global economic recession will result in a decrease in spending and the fall of growth rates to around half the levels achieved in 2008.”