There’s nothing like the fear of being hacked to make businesses willing to spend cash on cybersecurity tools and services.
In 2020, these organizations are expected to spend $101.6 billion on cybersecurity software, services, and hardware, according to research released Wednesday by the International Data Corporation. This equates to a 38% increase from the $73.7 billion that IDC projects organizations will spend on cybersecurity in 2016.
Researchers cited fear as the primary motivator for this bump in cybersecurity spending in light of major hacks that have wrecked companies like Yahoo (YHOO), Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE), and Anthem (ANTM). Just today, handbag maker Vera Bradley (VRA) said that hackers may have stolen customer data—including credit card numbers and cardholder names—from the company’s in-store payment devices, but didn’t say how many people were affected.
“Today’s security climate is such that enterprises fear becoming victims of the next major cyber attack or cyber extortion,” said Sean Pike, IDC’s vice president of security products, in a statement. “As a result, security has become heavily scrutinized by boards of directors demanding that security budgets are used wisely and solutions operate at peak efficiency.”
The IDC research released this week broke down the firm’s estimates on 2016 cybersecurity spending as well, but did not expand in more detail about 2020 spending.
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For 2016, IDC projects that the banking industry will spend the most on cybersecurity. Discrete manufacturing, which involves the assembly of finished products like chairs automobiles, is projected to be the second biggest cybersecurity spender, followed by governments and related agencies, and process manufacturers, which includes businesses that make goods like chemicals and beverages.
The United States is expected to spend $31.5 billion on cybersecurity tools and services, with Western Europe coming in at second place with $19.5 billion in spending. IDC did not break down how much the Asia/Pacific region will spend this year, but noted it is the third largest region in regards to cybersecurity spending. It is also expected to grow the fastest in spending by 2020, followed by the Middle East, Africa, and Western Europe.
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In February, a cybersecurity report from consulting company NTT Com Security found that half of the 1,000 business executives surveyed did not have a formal plan in place to secure and protect company data if they were hacked. The research countered today’s findings from IDC by saying that executives seemed to be putting off spending on cybersecurity tools and services despite recent mega hacks, and were spending more on marketing instead.
