The Emmes Group, a San Francisco-based strategy consulting and market research firm, conducted an in-depth market research survey at the RSA 2003 Conference in San Francisco. The survey results indicate that the majority of respondents plan security purchases within one year.

The survey showed strength in purchases for both IT security products and services. Over 34 percent of respondents gauged their annual budget for IT security products at greater than $500,000. Over 68 percent said their timeline for purchase of IT products fell within one year and approximately 13 percent listed their purchase timeline as immediate.

The IT security services category showed similar strength, with over 22 percent of respondents listing their annual services budget at greater than $500,000. Fifty-six percent of respondents listed their purchase timeline within 12 months.


Respondents listed their most immediate security needs as: software and appliance based firewall (36.8 percent), software and appliance based VPNs (36.8 percent), and authentication/verification products (31 percent). IDS/IPS products also registered as a strong growth category with 19.8 percent of respondents listing it as an immediate concern.

Juha Harkonen, CEO of Stonesoft Inc., a sponsor of the survey said: "This study underscores that organizations understand that security is a critical -- the most critical -- aspect of their IT infrastructure. However, it is also a wake up call to security vendors to simplify the integration, management, and user friendliness of their products."

The complete survey can be downloaded in PDF format from StoneSoft's web site.