With cyber attack volumes hitting record highs in 2012, Infonetics is about to report that it expects the cloud-based security market to grow by 83 percent by 2016. Report author, Infonetics principal analyst for security Jeff Wilson, chalks up the increasing demand to the increased complexity in securing the diversifying number of apps, devices, and platforms enterprises are introducing. On a macro level, Wilson’s assumptions make sense (I can’t speak to the micro; I’m not looking at the raw data). If he’s correct – even a slightly – it spells opportunity for Telcos because Security (big S) should be inherent in the cloud.
BillingViews’ discussions on the cloud-to-cloud opportunity are gaining traction because they too make sense. Telcos can connect the cloud silos that enterprises are creating for themselves. But that connectivity should have security built it. In parallel research Infonetics’ Wilson predicts the market for data center and virtual security appliances will also grow massively to hit $4.4 billion by 2016. So, the clouds themselves – i.e. data centers – also need to be tightly secured and enterprises are willing to pay for it.
For Telcos, this is an over-the-top play. When you’re providing connectivity and data centers, pretty much anything is over the top. Right now, security is dominated by other players like Cisco, Juniper, McAfee, and HP. Traditionally, these vendors have sold stand-alone infrastructure to enterprises (including Telcos) that brings with it all of the headaches of any other on-site, licensed IT platform. Cloud economics should therefore apply. There should be no separation between a Telco’s interconnected cloud offerings and SECURE interconnected cloud offerings.
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