The woldwide market for firewall security applications will break the $1 billion barrier this year, according to IDC. Revenues increased by 153% in 2000, reaching $943 million and IDC forecasts that by 2005 the market will generate $4 billion.
The US market presents the greatest opportunity for this market, in 2000 it accounted for 54% of worldwide firewall hardware/software revenues, although its share will dedrease as other nations ‘catch up’.
“Firewall VPN [virtual private network] security appliances are catching on because they’re convenient. They provide an all-in-one approach that simplifies product selection, product integration, and ongoing support,” said Charles Kolodgy, manager of IDC’s Internet Security research. “They appeal to end-user customers because they’re easy to install and configure, and service providers like them for the same reasons as well as because they can be centrally managed from a remote site.”
“Competition within the market is very fierce,” Kolodgy continued. “Many vendors are gunning for the top spot, and several experienced extremely impressive growth rates in 2000.”
