Worldwide spending on information security products and services is expected to touch USD 81.6 billion in 2016, an increase of 7.9 per cent over the previous year, research firm Gartner said.
Consulting and IT outsourcing are currently the largest categories of spending on information security, Gartner said in its report, adding by the end of 2020, the highest growth is expected to come from security testing, IT outsourcing and data loss prevention (DLP).
Gartner expects the secure web gateways (SWG) market to maintain its growth of 5-10 per cent through 2020 as organisations focus on detection and response.
However, preventive security will continue to show strong growth as many security practitioners continue to have a buying preference for preventive measures, it added.
"Organisations are increasingly focusing on detection and response, because taking a preventive approach has not been successful in blocking malicious attacks. We strongly advise businesses to balance their spending to include both," Gartner Senior Research Analyst Elizabeth Kim said.
Kim added security spending will become increasingly service-driven as organisations continue to face staffing and talent shortages.
