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Research: Expect Managed Security Services to Hit $101 Billion Worldwide by 2026

For MSSPs, the signs point to a buoyant market in the next 10 years. Based on new data compiled by Persistence Market Research, the managed security services segment will hit nearly $101 billion worldwide by 2026.

The researcher’s report “Managed Security Services Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2016–2026” details how managed security services will grow five-fold from $20 billion in 2016 to the lofty 2026 projection. The market in small and medium-sized businesses will climb about 19 percent during the period, driven by compliance and security regulations.

Geographically, North America and Western Europe are expected to lead the market's charge. North America, which accounted for $6.2 billion in managed security services sales in 2016, is forecast to move ahead at a 19 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2026. At the same time, Western Europe is anticipated to generate some $21 billion in market value, Persistence said.

Businesses are likely to turn to MSSPs in great numbers to address their security issues owing to an increase in cyber crime, cost effectiveness, a skilled workforce, 24 x 7 monitoring and support, and continuous changes in compliance standards and regulations, according to Persistence. On the other hand, a “huge amount of risk associated with outsourcing the critical and sensitive security information of any organization to the service providers,” will remain a significant impediment to the market’s growth.

Where’s the money living for MSSPs? In the mid-sized market segment, researcher Frost and Sullivan said, which is “relatively underdeveloped...and largely ignored by many tier 1 MSSPs.” The two strongest growth segments for managed security services? Threat intelligence and research and detection services, of course.

Persistence’s managed security services market projection may be somewhat of an outlier compared to some other researchers. For example, Research and Markets estimates the segment will grow at a CAGR of about 15 percent through 2025 and account for some $18 billion in sales worldwide.

Others are a bit more optimistic. MarketsandMarket forecasts the managed security services market will climb at a 15 percent CAGR to about $34 billion globally by 2021, doubling from the $17 billion posted in 2016 and putting it on an upward path to approximate Persistence’s numbers. Similarly, Global Industry Analysts believes the market will climb to $36 billion worldwide by 2022 “driven by the growing need for advanced threat protection against the backdrop of the rise in frequency and complexity of cyber attacks.”

Shortages of skilled IT professionals, a lack of sufficient capital resources, rising complexities in network infrastructure, and growing pressure to ensure compliance with stringent regulations will push companies to outsource their IT security needs to MSSPs, the company said.

And, Allied Market Research forecasts that the worldwide market will measure at about $41 billion by 2022, clipping along at a CAGR of 17 percent. Allied pegs North America as the largest market for managed security services during the forecast period owing to the growing awareness about information security among businesses.

D. Howard Kass

D. Howard Kass is a contributing editor to MSSP Alert. He brings a career in journalism and market research to the role. He has served as CRN News Editor, Dataquest Channel Analyst, and West Coast Senior Contributing Editor at Channelnomics. As the CEO of The Viewpoint Group, he led groundbreaking market research.