an IT technician working in a datacentre

Security spending is slowing down globally. However, in Asia, countries like China, Singapore, and Malaysia are rapidly boosting spending. Source: Shutterstock

Security spending in Asia growing amidst slowing global spend

ASIA is expected to ramp up spending on security-related hardware, software, and services in the next five years, with China seeing the largest increase in spending.

By 2022, China’s spending on security is predicted to grow by 26.6 percent annually. This is followed by Malaysia at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.1 percent and Singapore at 18.2 percent.

According to an IDC report, the trend in Asia is in contrast with the global growth rate, which is anticipated to slow down, delivering a CAGR of only 9.9 percent over the five years.

“Privacy has grabbed the attention of Boards of Directors as regions look to implement privacy regulation and compliance standards similar to GDPR,” said Frank Dickson, Research VP, Security Products, IDC.

“Frankly, privacy is the new buzzword and the potential impact is very real. The result is that demand to comply with such standards will continue to buoy security spending for the foreseeable future,” he explained.

Globally, spending on security will reach US$133.7 billion in 2022.

Most of the money will be spent on security-related services, which is worth US$40.2 billion in 2018 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9 percent.

“Security remains an investment priority in every industry as companies seek to protect themselves from large-scale cyber attacks and to meet expanding regulatory requirements,” said Eileen Smith, program director, Customer Insights and Analysis.

Managed services will account for 50 percent of the services segment, with most of the remainder going into integration services and consulting services.

Security software is the next biggest segment after services. Companies are estimated to spend most on endpoint security software, followed by identity and access management software, and security and vulnerability management software.

On the hardware segment, spending will be led by unified threat management solutions, followed by firewall and content management.

“While security services are an important part of this investment strategy, companies are also investing in the infrastructure and applications needed to meet the challenges of a steadily evolving threat environment,” she added.

By industry, the banking sector is expected to invest the most in security solutions, growing from US$10.5 billion in 2018 to US$16.0 billion in 2022.

Overall, telecommunications, state/local government, and the resource industry will see the biggest growth in security spending, with annual growth rates between 11-13 percent.