Security spending to rise faster than average

Security software and services spending will rise four per cent in 2010, outpacing all other areas of infrastructure software, according to a survey by analyst Gartner.

Specific areas of projected security-related software spending growth in 2010 include security information and event management, email security, URL filtering, and user provisioning.

Adam Hils, principal research analyst at Gartner, said: “In the current highly uncertain economic environment, with overall IT budgets shrinking, even the modest spending increases indicated by the survey show that security spending accounts for a higher percentage of the IT budget."

And security services budgets are projected to grow almost three per cent, significantly outperforming other service areas.

This anticipated increase is being driven in part by a growing movement towards managed security services, cloud-based email/web security solutions, and third-party compliance-related consulting and vulnerability audits and scans.

Ruggero Contu, principal research analyst at Gartner, said: "Businesses should recognise that new threats or vulnerabilities may require security spending that exceeds the amounts allocated, and should consider setting aside up to 15 per cent of the IT security budget to address the potential risks and impact of such unforeseen issues.”

Gartner surveyed more than 1,000 IT professionals.