Legislation and Productivity Concerns Drive the Investments in European Content Security Market

Source: Frost & Sullivan

The European content security market is gathering pace, particularly with enterprise security gaining priority due to the ever-increasing need to protect critical information from the emerging threats and attacks. Furthermore, employee productivity is becoming an area of focus, and in the recent past, Europe has also been reviving its legislative directives, necessitating greater investments in security. These factors, coupled with the growing consolidation, are likely to provide entry and exit options for the investment community. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (www.financialservices.frost.com), “European Content Security Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities,” reveals that revenues in this market totaled US$1.80 billion in 2006, and are likely to reach US$3.35 million in 2010.

“The European security industry at large is in the limelight, as growing signs of market maturity in the North American region have heightened the focus on the less mature European and the growing Asian markets,” notes Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Raja Srinivasan. “Regulatory compliances, employee productivity concerns, and the growing demand for proactive solutions to counter new and innovative security threats are all expected to drive content security investments across Europe.”

Among market segments, while the antivirus segment remains the largest, e-mail filtering has also managed to achieve widespread demand, driven mainly by media exposure to spam and the existence of some well-established participants in the region. As for Web-filtering applications, although the European region did not appreciate them initially, it has now understood the importance of such applications as the dependency on Internet has become inevitable. As a result of this transition, the Web-filtering segment is likely to register the fastest growth within the European content security space.

With regard to the challenges, distribution still remains an area of concern, as a majority of established content security companies are U.S.-based. Besides, Microsoft’s ambitious plans for expanding its presence in the security space, especially in the consumer segment, have alarmed other security vendors.

“Unlike its North American counterpart, the European content security market is highly fragmented, and this presents significant commercial challenges for new players wanting to enter the market,” says Raja. “Moreover, Microsoft’s entry into the marketplace is expected to increase pricing pressures, as the company has the capacity to draw customers with more competitive prices.”

Distribution challenges could encourage more mergers and acquisitions in the market place, as large companies prefer to grow inorganically through acquisitions, to bolster their reach in the market. A similar trend in consolidation is likely in the near future, across the security value chain, as vendors are forced to gain access to resources and enhance their market penetration. These trends could, in turn, offer lucrative exit opportunities for the investment community.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company’s industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

Source: Frost & Sullivan

(For more information, visit www.frost.com. If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the European Content Security Market - Investment Analysis and Growth Opportunities, then send an e-mail to Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications, at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.)

Legislation and Productivity Concerns Drive the Investments in European Content Security Market

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