Security spends from user focused organizations to grow by 9.4% in 2022: Gartner

A shortage of cybersecurity professionals may lead end-user organizations in India to increase engagement for cybersecurity professionals. According to a report published by market research firm Gartner, today, end-user spending on security and risk management in India will total $2.6 billion in 2022, an increase of 9.4% from 2021.

The report noted that end-user organizations in India often engage with security service providers to meet their cybersecurity objectives. As a result, spending on security services is expected to total $1 billion in 2022, the highest among all segments. This will be followed by spending on network security equipment and infrastructure protection.

“Hybrid or remote working is the new normal in 2022. Some organizations have even shifted to a virtual-first approach following the learnings from 2020,” said Prateek Bhajanka, senior principal research analyst at Gartner. “This model of working puts the spotlight on cloud, endpoint and identity security as employees become the ‘branch of one’ for an organization.”

“COVID-19 was a pivotal moment in the way organizations approached risk or prepared for disruptions. Now, security leaders are putting risk management at the center of their security and business strategies,” said Bhajanka.

According to Gartner, cybersecurity will continue to be top priority for Indian CIOs in 2022. Out of the total CIOs surveyed in India, 64% said they will increase their spending on technologies related to cyber and information security in 2022, higher than the global average of 57%.

“In 2022, Indian security and risk management leaders will need to revisit their approach to network security with a focus on technologies such as zero trust network access (ZTNA) for context-based security. They need to envision the future of network security in the cloud,” said Bhajanka.