Global security spending to reach $96.3bn in 2018 - Gartner

According to a new report from Gartner, worldwide security spending is forecast to reach $96.3bn in 2018, up 8% from the $89.1bn expected in 2017.

The predicted increase in security spending is the result of a number of factors – impending regulations such as GDPR, a shifting buyer mindset, the ongoing global digital revolution and a greater awareness of cybersecurity threats.

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“Overall, a large portion of security spending is driven by an organisation's reaction toward security breaches as more high profile cyberattacks and data breaches affect organisations worldwide,” said Ruggero Contu, Research Director at Gartner. “Cyberattacks such as WannaCry and NotPetya, and most recently the Equifax breach, have a direct effect on security spend, because these types of attacks last up to three years.”

Broken down, Gartner expects that $57.72bn of this will be spent directly on security services, whilst the remainder will go towards, infrastructure protection ($17.47bn), network security equipment ($11.67bn), Consumer security software ($4.75bn) and identity access management ($4.70bn).

Within the report, Gartner also predicts that 60% of organisations will invest in multiple data security tools by 2020, up from 35% currently, and by 2019 spending on outsourcing security services will make up 75% of spending on security software and hardware products, up from the 63% in 2017.

“Skill sets are scarce and therefore remain at a premium, leading organisations to seek external help from security consultants, managed security service providers and outsourcers,” said Contu. “In 2018, spending on security outsourcing services will total $18.5 billion, an 11 per cent increase from 2017.

“The IT outsourcing segment is the second-largest security spending segment after consulting.”