EMEA Managed Security Services Market Set to Soar Based on Increased Cyber Attacks

In an unlikely positive twist on a sinister situation, the proliferation of targeted cyber attacks in the EMEA region has lead to growth for the managed security services (MSS) market. Research from Frost & Sullivan finds the market will more than double its 2012 revenues of $2.62 billion, reaching $5.5 billion by 2018.

According to the research firm’s analysis, organizations in the EMEA region are increasingly turning to managed security service providers (MSSPs) to supply security analytics tools and threat landscape research to deal with the increasing attacks. And with IT departments consistently facing budget reductions, managed services provide a cost effective and secure way to deal with the threats.

"In addition to the lack of in-house expertise and the growing complexity of threats, the need to comply with industry standards and regulatory requirements has incentivized organizations to outsource at least a part of their security operations,” said Mario Fernandez, senior industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan Information & Communication Technologies. “This is fuelling the demand for MSS in the region."

Fernandez added that some businesses are uncertain about the legal ramifications of outsourcing portions of their IT security due to regulatory restraints. This may deter businesses from choosing an MSSP, although it is a popular misconception.

Those factors have lead many MSSPs to tailor their services specifically to their clients’ markets, offering a risk-based approach to understanding customers’ core needs. This strategy, along with continuously improving security intelligence and analytics offerings, is giving some MSSPs a competitive edge.

"Successful vendors are moving towards expertise-intensive managed security services and the delivery of security intelligence," added Fernandez. "Offering the flexibility of hybrid MSS models will also represent crucial ingredients for success in the high-end MSS market."

The Frost & Sullivan research finds that enterprises make up the main segment of MSS in the EMEA region and will remain dominant in terms of purchasing power. The U.K. and Germany make up the majority of the regional market, followed by Scandinavia, Benelux, Switzerland and Austria.