We asked Richard Stiennon...

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This week we’re focused on…📣

Growth.

And specifically, the growth of cybersecurity vendors – in spite of a looming recession in many areas of the world.

Why? 🤔

Because we spoke to Richard Stiennon (Founder and Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest).

But before we share what he told us, let’s look at some quick industry statistics to get a sense of how cybersecurity markets are doing right now:

• Revenue in the global cybersecurity market is expected to reach USD $166.20 billion this year (2023)
• Security Services account for the biggest share of the market, at $87.97 billion
• Revenue is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.48% – reaching $273.60 billion by 2028

Some experts have argued that cybersecurity is a recession proof industry (including Cybersecurity Ventures founder Steve Morgan, in this interview with Fortune) – because all organisations need cybersecurity.

While it’s inevitable that some organisations will tighten their cybersecurity budgets if they need to, dropping security lower down on the priorities list would expose them to more risk of suffering a breach. So spending less on security is a false economy – because the average cost of a data breach in 2023 is $4.45 million, according to research by IBM.

What about cybersecurity vendors? 💸

With economic uncertainty and an ongoing conversation about organisations cutting their cybersecurity budgets, it would make sense for cybersecurity vendors to be reeling in their own costs, too.

But according to Stiennon’s industry analysis firm, IT-Harvest, that doesn’t appear to be happening.

We asked Stiennon if he could share any interesting data points that IT-Harvest has identified recently. And he said:

“We recently ingested all the job postings for all 3,570 vendors. In total they have 67,000 openings. That supports our data that 54% of all vendors have grown in headcount in 2023, despite all the dire warnings of a recession.”

A 2022 survey by McKinsey identified a $2 trillion market opportunity for cybersecurity tech and service providers. And rather than slowing down in the face of economic instability, vendors are stepping towards that opportunity – building out their protections with technological developments and human talent.

VENDORS – Are you adding new talent to your teams? 🧑‍💻

1. YES – we’re hiring! 📝 vote

2. Not right now – we’re upskilling our team members instead 🧘 vote

3. NOPE – we’ve got all the people (and skills) we need 💪 vote

Cybersecurity is resilient 🛡

It’s resilient because it’s necessary. And because it’s an industry full of curious innovators who continue to work on effective, efficient, and comprehensive solutions to mitigate the ever-growing attack surface for cybercriminals.

Read our full interview with Richard Stiennon on the blog.

Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like us to cover? We're eager to hear it! Drop us a message and share your thoughts. Our next newsletter is scheduled for 20 September 2023.

Catch you next week,
Steve Durning
Exhibition Director

P.S. - Mark your calendars for the return of Black Hat MEA from 📅 14 - 16 November 2023. Want to be a part of the action?

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