Key drivers for the information communication and technology (ICT) security industry
The main driver for the ICT security industry relates to the continuously evolving threat landscape facing companies, as hackers use increasingly sophisticated methods to tamper with or acquire sensitive information from corporate networks or disrupt their operations. The level of persistence, deception and skill used by these perpetrators cannot be underestimated and is often the cause of severe damage to their targets.
In response, the ICT security industry is continuously improving its offerings to mitigate these threats. The technology manufacturers clearly focus on developing suitable products, while the solution providers, such as ISA, focus on bringing these advanced technologies to market in a way that customers can achieve their anticipated return on investment. The culmination of these efforts is to create a safe, reliable, effective and efficient internetworked environment in which companies and economies transact and interact.
One only needs to consider how online banking has revolutionised the banking industry to appreciate the immense value of using the internet as a business enablement platform.
The ICT security industry is at the epicentre of this commercial revolution, as it is fundamentally involved with the process of assuring business that their online initiatives do not circumvent their implicit need for confidentiality, integrity and the operational availability of their systems.
Secure remote access, user identity management, virtualisation and data protection are but a few niche areas of the ICT security industry that are benefiting directly from the industry trends in distributed workforce mobility, cloud computing, technology convergence and the increased access to reliable and affordable broadband.
Another key driver of the ICT security market is the trend to delegate the highly technical aspects of security infrastructure administration, monitoring and maintenance to specialised and experienced Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs).
Whilst the ownership of the corporate security practise cannot be outsourced to the same extent, due to governance and legislative accountability requirements, corporate stakeholders readily acknowledge that they are not well positioned to attract, develop and retain the skills required to manage their security systems on a sustainable basis.
MSSPs on the other hand have the appropriate technical environment and scale to manage this process for their customers and to deliver a consistent level of service governed by purpose-built Service Level and Confidentiality Agreements.