VARs predict SIEM pay day

Reseller tills ringing as corporate end users push suppliers to become ISO 27001 compliant

Security VARs are predicting a security information and event management (SIEM) bonanza in 2013 as large corporate customers push their suppliers to become ISO 27001 compliant.

VAR Bridgeway Security Solutions recently won a security information and event management (SIEM) deal with law firm Maclay Murray & Spens LLP in partnership with vendor LogRhythm.

Bridgeway chief executive Jason Holloway said his firm is trialling LogRhythm with two more law firms and predicted that SIEM – a market worth about $1.1bn (£684m) annually, according to Gartner – would be a growth hotspot for the security channel this year.

Holloway said many large corporates that have ISO 27000 compliance regimes in place are now pushing for their primary suppliers, including legal firms, to follow suit.

"There is no single technology that delivers ISO 27001 capabilities per se," he said.

"However, SIEM is possibly the most appropriate solution for demonstrating compliance with ISO 27000 standards as it allows you to build up rules to monitor and report compliance with the different control indicators you have chosen to measure."

Holloway said the deal with MMS, which has offices in London, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, was driven both by the law firm's desire to become compliant and to get a handle on what is happening across its IT estate.

LogRhythm was one of five vendors positioned as a leader in Gartner's 2012 SIEM Magic Quadrant, alongside Arcsight, Q1 Labs, NitroSecurity and NetIQ – all of which have recently been snapped up by larger vendors (HP, IBM, McAfee and Novell respectively).

According to the market watcher, the SIEM market swelled 15 per cent to $1.1bn in 2011 as a combination of compliance and threat management requirements drove adoption of the technology.

David Hobson, sales director of VAR MTI's security practice, agreed 2013 would be a strong year for the SIEM market.

"I think SIEM is growing in importance for businesses and growing in maturity as a product," he said. "We are almost stepping into SIEM version three now, where intelligence is added. This will take it on a step to make it more useful as a tool."