According to a recent report by Canalys, the worldwide cybersecurity technology market expanded by 11.6 percent year on year, reaching an impressive US$19.0 billion in investments. This growth occurred despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties and constrained IT budgets.
A significant portion of this spending was driven by the top 12 vendors, who collectively accounted for nearly half of the market expenditure. Topping the market charts was Palo Alto Networks, experiencing a remarkable growth of 25.4 percent in Q2. The demand for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), SecOps, and cloud security fueled their ascendancy.
Following closely, Fortinet secured the second position with a growth rate of 19.0 percent, primarily attributed to gains in network security, although representing a slight slowdown from their Q1 growth.
Meanwhile, industry stalwart Cisco accounted for 6.1 percent of the total spending, indicating a marginal decrease from the previous year’s 6.7 percent. Cisco is currently in a transformative phase under new leadership, marked by platform launches and strategic acquisitions, notably its intent to acquire Splunk for a substantial US$28 billion.
TOP VENDORS AND THEIR SHARE
| Palo Alto Networks | 9.6% | |
| Fortinet | 7.0% | |
| Cisco | 6.1% | |
| CrowdStrike | 3.8% | |
| Check Point | 3.6% | |
| Okta | 3.4% | |
| Microsoft | 3.4% | |
| Symantec | 2.9% | |
| IBM | 2.7% | |
| Trellix | 2.7% | |
| Zscaler | 2.5% | |
| Trend Micro | 2.2% |
The threat landscape has witnessed an unprecedented surge, with the number of publicly reported ransomware attacks rising by over 50 percent and breached data records more than doubling in the first eight months of the year. Matthew Ball, Chief Analyst at Canalys, highlighted that if the current trend persists, 2023 is poised to surpass all previous records, eclipsing the ransomware incidents that came to the fore in 2021 due to a series of high-profile events.
In Q2 2023, the channel played a vital role, accounting for 91.5 percent of total cybersecurity technology spending, up from 90.5 percent during the same quarter the previous year. This underlines the increasing importance of channel partners with cybersecurity expertise, particularly in helping organizations fortify their cyber-resilience.
The 2023 Canalys Forums are shedding light on these pressing concerns. At the recent EMEA event in Barcelona, industry leaders emphasized the critical need for partners to engage in service-led interactions with customers and collaborate with specialists to enhance capabilities in areas like red teaming and MDR (Managed Detection and Response). Improved collaboration among vendors, especially concerning integration and data sharing, was also a highlighted objective.
“Discovering vulnerabilities and establishing asset inventories, as well as categorizing them based on the level of risk, is critical to prioritize investment in protection. This is also an important foundation for partners in creating remediation plans for customers when attacks take place,” said Matthew Ball.
He further emphasized that the cybersecurity services opportunity for partners is expected to outpace the sale of cybersecurity technology this year, with spending projected to grow by 13.2 percent to reach a staggering US$143.2 billion in 2023. Managed security services and integration services are forecasted to be the fastest growing segments in this domain.
Regionally, spending exhibited resilience in North America (+12.6 percent), EMEA (+11.1 percent), and Latin America (+13.4 percent). However, growth rates experienced a slight slowdown in Asia Pacific (+8.8 percent), as organizations cautiously scaled back their spending in response to evolving circumstances.
The Canalys Channel Forums scheduled for November and December are expected to provide further insights and strategies to navigate these complex dynamics in the cybersecurity landscape.
