Security software market to hit $7bn by 2020

IDC also expects the volume of public cloud security software to overtake on-premise software this year

The security software market in Europe is set to reach $7bn by 2020, according to the latest IDC statistics.

The market watcher claims the market passed the $5bn mark in 2015, and that it will continue to grow, partly as a result of "a growing burden of regulatory requirements".

It also attributes the future growth to a more severe threat landscape and the acceleration of digital transformation, but warned not to expect growth in every area of security.

"While these factors are causing the security software market as a whole to grow, it would be a mistake to view this strong performance as being uniform across all segments," the IDC report stated.

"In fact, there are elements of the market that are showing sluggish performance or even shrinking. These struggling segments tend to be those that are dealing with fundamental transitions.

"A good example here is the messaging security space, where the shift towards SaaS delivery has caused the market to decline for several years."

IDC does however expect the messaging security market to return to growth by 2019, driven by the opportunity to supplant on-premise environments with cloud-based alternatives.

It went on to explain that it expects the volume of public cloud security software in western Europe to surpass on-premise security software this year.