Software-defined networks (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) are forcing networking vendors to offer new form factors or to re-architect solutions, said Infonetics Research.
Its latest Data Center Security Products report says OpenFlow and other SDN technologies are an evolutionary change for security vendors, who have been adapting products for virtualized environments for over 5 years.
Global revenue for the ported virtual security appliances segment of the larger data center security appliance market grew 4 percent between the first and second quarters of 2013, to $107 million.
Purpose-built virtual security appliances are forecast by Infonetics to grow at a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent from 2012 to 2017.
The virtual appliance vendor landscape is crowded with a mix of established security players, virtualization platform vendors, and specialist vendors.
“The most recent revelation that the NSA has been secretly siphoning data from Google and Yahoo! data centers worldwide has put a laser focus on the need for security at all levels of the data center, from layer 1 transport all the way up to individual applications and data. The world’s never been more tuned into privacy and security,” said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for security at Infonetics Research.
