All in the "red" except security

THE security software market in the Asia-Pacific is growing, despite the unfavourable economic conditions.

The segment remains in the black when other portions of ICT spending have gone into the red since March, according to IDC Malaysia's programme manager, software research RogerLing.

Why companies still invest in security

The main reason behind the continued demand is due to concerns ofsecurity breaches and data losses.

Organisations can reduce their budgeton other things, but when it comes to security, they cannot compromise, said Ling from IDC.

"Organisations see security as an area that needs to bemaintained or increased to survive," he said.

In a recent IDC survey of over 1,300 IT executives and chief information officers in the region, over 36 per cent of the respondents said they will increase their infrastructure software spending over the next 18 months. And from this group, 63 per cent said they will focus their IT budget on security software to address threats and improve compliance.

These findings confirmed that IT securityinvestments have now become even more important as businesses recognisethe need to hedge themselves against security attacks.

What areas companies are focusing on

Based on the IDC survey, two areas of security that companies arefocusing on are data loss prevention and Web and messaging security.

In planning for their security infrastructure investments, organisationsneed to look beyond anti-virus solutions, Ling said. "Most people still think that security is all about anti-virus. If thatis the case, your security infrastructure is not well-protected becauseyou are only thinking of one aspect of the whole infrastructure," he said,adding that the people aspect of security needs to be addressed, too.

"Organisations need to look at data loss, identity and access solutionsfor the people aspect of the security infrastructure. Look beyond anti-virus as threats come from many angles."