Industry buzz returns to RSA

IT security show recaptures mojo, according to UK attendees who made 22-hour round trip

If the RSA Conference is a litmus test for the health of the IT security industry, things are looking up.

UK attendees returned home from San Francisco last year complaining that the four-day security junket was something of a damp squib.

This year, the buzz returned to the giant IT security show, which culminated in Tony Blair bashing Wikileaks in his keynote. Mobile security, authentication, and governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) were among the most prevalent technologies being touted.

Mike Dalton, a former EMEA boss at McAfee whose new business, IT Growth Strategies, offers consultancy services to US vendors looking to set up shop in Europe, summed up the mood: "There was a very positive atmosphere, whereas here it feels gloomier. Whether that is to do with the way the US is ploughing money into the economy, versus the austerity measures we are taking here, is hard to say. But it was uplifting that the vendors were upbeat about their prospects in the market."

Simon Church (pictured below), chief operating officer at security integrator Integralis, argued that the 11,000-mile round trip had been worth it.

"I had meetings with eight or nine chief executives," he said. "You would not get that at Infosec. It was an incredibly efficient, if exhausting event."

What's hot?

Aside from the networking, RSA - and the companion America's Growth Capital (AGC) event on the Monday - are very much about showcasing emerging security technology.

With the smartphone market ballooning at about 50 per cent, it was no surprise that mobile authentication, mobile device management and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) security start-ups were there in force.

"Every third booth was about 2FA," said Dalton.

Simon Hember, managing director of IT recruitment firm Acumin, also picked out GRC and identity-as-a-service as hotspots.

"Last year people were saying it was disappointing," he said. "There was no shortage of activity or buzz this year and we saw some pretty interesting companies at the AGC conference. They were saying the global ID and access management market has grown to nearly $10bn (£6.3bn) and will be $12bn in 2013 - and that identity-as-a-service will probably account for 20 per cent of that."

Hember highlighted Brazilian GRC outfit Modulo and Swedish vulnerability management vendor Outpost24 as ones to watch.

Dalton added: "USB encryption was big as usual but when Microsoft launches Windows 8 I do not know how much life there will be left in that space.

"My view is that if you display at Infosec, you may well have missed the boat. If I were a reseller, I would want to get to the technology early. If a US company exhibits over here, they probably already have distribution channels in place. Walking the floor at RSA is worth the investment."

Rude health

In a further signal of the IT security market's good health, M&A activity in the sector is red hot, according to figures cited at the AGC conference. Some 141 deals were made in the security space last year - flat on last year - with the median deal value rising by 25 per cent to $60m. Fourteen deals were transacted in January 2012 alone.

Dave Ellis, director of new security at distributor Computerlinks, which sent several staff to the show, said: "From a technology perspective it was dominated by the big players. Outside that, BYOD was very prevalent."

Church singled out mobility, consumeratisation, cloud and big data as the show's hot topics, highlighting application management specialist Splunk as a vendor to watch for 2012.

"It was definitely worth going," said Church. "There was a definite buzz that reflects an inflexion point in the industry. We are at the next level of maturity in the industry. In general, the message was 'if you haven't been compromised, you will be' - and what to do about that, which is to get the basics right by reviewing and testing policies and procedures and educating users."

Four to watch

The pick of the emerging tech on display at RSA

AhnLab

Korea's "oldest and largest" security solution provider made a big splash at RSA by using the show to announce its entrance into the US market. Its V3 Secure Cloud is an integrated security suite designed for both PCs and Android mobile devices. "Now the product is in English, it will be interesting to see if it ends up on our doorstep," said Dalton.

Splunk

The Californian enterprise software outfit caught the eye of Integralis COO Simon Church. Founded in 2004, the firm provides application management, IT operations management, security and compliance, business analytics and cloud solutions. It recently filed for a $125m IPO.

Outpost24

The vulnerability management vendor is beginning to make waves in the UK ,having poached Derek James from rival Qualys to head up its business here. Founded in 2001 in Stockholm, Outpost24 now has offices in 40 countries.

Modulo

Modulo's Risk Manager solution is designed to allow firms to automate the process of identifying, analysing, evaluating and treating risks across the enterprise, while reducing complexity and costs. Hember cited the Brazil-based firm as one of several eye-catching GRC vendors at the show. "It has done well in Latin America and is definitely looking to come over here," he said.