Managed Wireless Security Services to Top $1 Billion in 2014, Report Says

A report from research firm ABI predicts strong continued growth for managed wireless security solutions--and said there are opportunities in the space for midmarket companies.

A report from global connectivity analysis firm ABI Research released a report predicting the market for managed wireless security services will more than triple in size over the next five years, experiencing a robust, recession-resistant compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27 percent for the years 2008-2014, and exceeding $1 billion at the end of that period.

ABI vice president Stan Schatt called the managed wireless security services growth rate is quite dramatic. "It's due to the explosive growth of large WLAN deployments," he said. "As these grow, organizations in certain markets such as healthcare and hospitality are finding it more efficient to outsource their security management rather than to do it themselves. That's particularly true of institutions that have many smaller branches without trained IT personnel."

There is also what Schatt terms "an absolutely incredible opportunity" among small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs): as they increase their Wi-Fi usage, they see great benefit in having their wireless security - especially wireless video surveillance - managed for them. "Managed service providers can address this market more effectively by including support for wireless video surveillance in their offerings, including portals for review of surveillance tapes, and activity reports," he said.

These managed services are being provided by a variety of companies, according to AMI, including some WLAN equipment companies such as Cisco, and some resellers of intrusion protection systems from companies such as AirMagnet and Airtight Networks. In the future, large professional services companies such as HP and IBM will join these companies, AMI predicted. The research firm also predicted mobile operators and other telcos will also be giving this market a great deal of attention, noting communications giant AT&T is already active in this sphere.

ABI said while this discussion has focused on managed services, the company's Wireless Security Market Data provides metrics and forecasts for a number of areas of wireless security. It includes forecasts for the managed wireless security market as well as data on asset tracking, cargo tracking, real-time location, and video surveillance. It forms part of the firm's Wireless Security Research Service, which also includes research reports, research briefs and analyst inquiry support, the company said.