Network security inches back to growth

On the up: the global network security market grew seven per cent sequentially in Q3

After a torrid start to the year the network security market showed signs of recovery in 2009's third quarter, but is still way down on last year, research has found.

Figures from Infonetics Research reveal worldwide revenue from network security appliances and software in Q3 fell 14 per cent year on year to $1.26bn (£0.96bn). But this represents a seven per cent hike on the market's nadir in the preceding quarter.

One of the market's brightest spots was the secure socket layer virtual private network gateway arena, with revenue up 13.5 per cent sequentially. The intrusion detection and prevention system space also blossomed in Q3, with sales rising 11.7 per cent on Q2.

Cisco enjoyed a successful quarter, with revenue up eight per cent and market share up one point to 35 per cent, making it the market's leading manufacturer. Juniper boosted turnover by a fifth to take second spot, swapping places with Check Point, which completed the top three.

Infonetics predicts the global market will slowly continue its upward trend and will be worth $5.8bn in 2013. This represents an increase of just 5.5 per cent on the 2008 figure of $5.5bn.

Jeff Wilson, principal analyst at Infonetics, said: "Just about every network security vendor we track increased their revenue in the third quarter, most noting healthy security spending by governments – particularly in the US and Asia – service providers and organisations upgrading security to meet regulatory and compliance rules."