Security Spending Will Reach USD 96 Billion in 2018, Up 8 Percent from 2017

Worldwide enterprise security spending to total USD 96.3 billion in 2018, an increase of 8 percent from 2017, forecasts Gartner, Inc. Organizations are spending more on security as a result of regulations, shifting buyer mindset, awareness of emerging threats, and the evolution to a digital business strategy.

This is validated by Gartner’s 2016 security buying behavior survey. Of the 53 percent of organizations that cited security risks as the No. 1 driver for overall security spending, the highest percentage of respondents said that a security breach is the main security risk influencing their security spending. As a result, security testing, IT outsourcing, and security information and event management (SIEM) will be among the fastest-growing security subsegments driving growth in the infrastructure protection and security services segments.

Regulatory compliance and data privacy have been stimulating spending on security during the past 3 years, in the United States (with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Overseas Citizenship of India) but most recently in Europe around the General Data Protection Regulation coming into force on May 28, 2018, as well as in China with the Cybersecurity Law that came into effect in June 2016. These regulations translate into increased spending, particularly in data security tools, privileged access management, and SIEM.

By 2020, more than 60 percent of organizations will invest in multiple data security tools such as data loss prevention, encryption, and data-centric audit and protections tools, up from approximately 35 percent today.

By 2019, total enterprise spending on security outsourcing services will be 75 percent of the spending on security software and hardware products, up from 63 percent in 2016.