Mobile security challenges fuel strong investment growth across central and eastern europe, according to IDC

09 Jun 2016

Prague — According to the new Central and Eastern Europe Mobile Security Market 2016–2020 Forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC), investments in mobile security solutions in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) exceeded $43 million in 2015, and are expected to grow steadily over the next four years, reaching nearly $80 million by 2020. The rising trend in investments underlines the threat that mobility and remote access pose for all organizations and their increasing readiness to tackle the challenge of securing it.

Ongoing 3^rd Platform adoption and the proliferation of mobile devices that comes with it are among the major forces driving the market; however, other external factors such as legislation (e.g., EU GDPR and eIDAS coming into force) will compel companies to update both their security policies and infrastructure in order to remain compliant. Internally, the increasing trend for lines of business (LOBs) to spearhead their own initiatives through their own IT investments will also create demand for more comprehensive mobile security, as the central IT department strives to maintain the integrity of all systems and data. Finally, of course, there is the threat landscape, with rising incidence of mobile malware, vulnerabilities in mobile apps, and the fundamental recognition by cybercriminals that mobile devices represent one of the most penetrable routes to accessing corporate networks.

The mobile security arms race between solution vendors and cybercriminals overlaps with a balancing act that IT leaders and their organizations face, between the drive for productivity and innovation on one side — mobile enablement — and the implementation of safeguards and controls on the other side — risk management. These conflicting pressures are playing out in many organizations, and the outcomes may be determined by the mentalities of the management and IT leaders within the organization (risk-averse or innovative) and/or the overall structure of the organization and its business — whether or not its performance and productivity is particularly driven by a mobile or remote workforce.

"Securing remote access through mobile devices and protecting the data and applications on those devices has become critical for CEE organizations trying to ensure their efforts to increase productivity are not outweighed by the increase in risk," said Mark Child, security research lead with IDC CEE. "Mobility initiatives should be a collaborative effort between management and the CISO — to map out policies and objectives and ensure they are aligned with operational imperatives, digital strategy, and IT architecture developments. Third-party expertise can be massively beneficial in this rapidly evolving area, so organizations should not hesitate to engage their trusted security partners in determining requirements and planning deployments."

The CEE Mobile Security Market Forecast aims to help vendors assessing mobility trends across the region to identify needs and demands of the organizations trying to maintain their security posture while executing mobile enablement initiatives. The Market Forecast provides subscribers with revenue projections for the next five years, as well as analysis of the key trends, market drivers, challenges for end users, and investment inhibitors.