Global research and advisory firm Gartner forecasts that cloud-based security services will grow by 21% this year and will be worth almost $9-billion by the end of the decade.

Overall growth in the cloud-based security services market is stronger than the total information security market growth, says Gartner research director Ruggero Contu.

“Email security, Web security and identity and access management (IAM) remain organisations’ top three cloud priorities. Mainstream services that address these priorities, including security information and event management (Siem) and IAM and emerging services, offer the most signifi- cant growth potential.”

Emerging services are among the fastest- growing cloud-based security services segments and include Siem, IAM, threat intelligence enablement, cloud-based malware sandboxes,cloud-based data encryption, endpoint protection management, threat intelligence and Web application firewalls (WAFs).

“Increasing security threats, operational and cost benefits and staffing pressure drive market growth,” says Contu.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are driving growth as they become increasingly aware of security threats. They also see that cloud deployments provide opportunities to reduce costs, especially for powering and cooling hardware-based security equipment and data-centre floor space, he highlights.

“The cloud medium is a natural fit for the needs of SMBs. The ease of deployment and management, pay-as-you-consume pricing and simplified features make this delivery model attractive for organisations that lack staffing resources.”

The enterprise sector is also driving growth as the operational benefits derived from a cloud-based security delivery model are recognised.

“Cloud-based delivery models will remain a popular choice for security practices, with deployment expanding further to controls such as cloud-based sandboxing and WAFs,” notes Contu.

According to a global survey conducted by Gartner at the beginning of 2016, public cloud will be the prime delivery model for more than 60% of security applications by the end of 2017.

The ability to leverage security controls that are delivered, updated and managed through the cloud – subsequently requiring less time-consuming and costly implementations and maintenance activities – is of significant value to enterprises, he explains.

Cloud-based security services market growth presents opportunities and challenges for providers.

“On the one hand, new greenfield demand arising from emerging requirements of SMBs is driving growth. On the other hand, new competitive dynamics and alternative pricing practices threaten traditional business models,” says Contu.

Providers need to adapt to the shift from an on-premises to a cloud-delivery business model, he advises.

“Overall, one of the main focus areas for providers relates to the shift from owning and selling a product to selling and supporting ongoing service delivery,” Contu concludes.