New age technologies have been the game changers in this fast moving world. One of the key technologies to gain momentum in the past decade has been cloud. Usage of cloud has proved to be a boon, especially for the services industry. Cloud based SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS have become the new order of the day as they provide a cost advantage to the companies in comparison to using traditional methods. This has fuelled the growth of cloud technology to a larger extent. But, every technology has its own set of pros and cons.
In terms of cloud, the major concern among users has been security in the cloud. With businesses spending billions in moving their resources to cloud, protecting them also becomes a crucial task. This has given birth to a need for cloud security solutions. The cloud security market is witnessing a barrage of enquiries of late and it is no surprise to industry watchers that this issue of security is finally finding its place in the cloud world.
Target’s retail credit card data breach, followed by Home Depot’s data theft, and others, along with breaches in banks and other businesses has proved that cloud is highly vulnerable to these kinds of attacks, which proves to be dangerous and expensive for both the company and its customers.
According to a survey titled, “The Notorious Nine,” conducted by Cloud Security Alliance, an organization promoting the best practices in cloud security, data breach ranks number one among the concerns that users have about the cloud followed by data loss. Cloud security market size will gradually increase within other cloud entities. Expedited adoption will result in greater need for cloud security.
These developments have increased the demand for third party cloud security solutions and many major security providers are coming up with new and innovative solutions to protect cloud from any kind of malicious attacks. Among the solutions offered include cloud encryption, cloud SIEM, cloud IAM, web security, email security, and others.
In a report titled, “Global Cloud Security Market till 2018*” by ResearchFox Consulting, a Bangalore based market research company, the cloud security market was valued at USD 3.47 billion in 2013 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 16.8% till 2018. The main reasons for the growth of these solutions have been attributed to:
- Increase in the incidents related to security breaches and threats to cloud where miscreants carry out targeted attacks for financial or intellectual gains.
- Need for increased protection as the attacks are growing more advanced and cloud alone has been incapable of warding off these attacks.
- Improved awareness and trust among businesses about the cloud and as a result more and more businesses moving their resources to cloud thereby creating a need for cloud security.
Apart from the drivers, the cloud security market is witnessing drastic changes where demand for these solutions in some geographic regions is growing rapidly and have recorded above average growth rate. The market demography comprises of seasoned, as well as, emerging players who offer solutions independently and also combined with a cloud provider. Cloud security market share is dominated by security software bellwether firms like Symantec and McAfee.
With increased use of cloud-based solutions and services, and rising instances of data breaches and targeted attacks on the cloud, the demand for cloud security solutions is expected to grow further. The market will see entry of new players and cloud providers voluntarily tying up with cloud security providers to provide cloud with integrated security solutions. The developing countries will see more cloud security adoption in the coming years and the demand for certain cloud security solutions is set to increase in the future.
*For more details on the cloud security market based on the geography, major players and users, type of cloud services, please click here.
ResearchFox Consulting is a market research firm based in Bangalore, India. The company provides market research services on emerging technologies through their concept of Market, Competition and Growth. Offerings include reports and consulting.
