JEDDAH — The Middle East region's IT spending is posed to reach $20 billion in 2012, reflecting a 10 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth rate. Growing also at a similar pace is the region's network security market, which is forecasted to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18 percent from 2012 to 2018, according to a recent report. The expected growth is being attributed to key factors like government led investments into Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), the consumerization of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) in enterprises and an increase in employee mobility. Also, companies and organizations in the region have demonstrated an urgency to enhance their security infrastructure—with IT becoming an essential component in their day-to-day operations. The report also forecast regulatory compliance to be a key driver for the region's Enterprise Security market. Technology convergence, cloud computing, and greater adoption of web applications are expected to increase the deployment of integrated security appliances in the region over the next six years. “IT security is fast becoming a key concern among companies and organizations in the GCC. Utilizing fully efficient world class IT security products does not only avoid the possibility of cyber attacks but also gives confidence that all your company's important data is safe and secure,” said Taher Elgamal, Ph.D., CEO, FIS. “As industry forecasts show that the region's IT security spend will increase by 18 per cent, we are planning to take an active role in this growth by leveraging our solutions in the areas of authentication and identity management, secure content, professional security services, information security training and computer forensics across companies and organizations. Our partnership with Adeya also assures us the advantage of tapping into the BFSI segment, helping meet demands for fully reliable mobile information security solutions.” FIS offers key consulting services like security risk assessment, applications code review, network penetration testing, security policies deployment and audit, ISO 27000 1 and 2 compliance and PCI DSS compliance. In addition, the company also has security solutions that includes multi-factor authentication, secure managed file transfer, data loss prevention, gateway content security, data encryption and control and credit card fraud solutions. Looking to play a key role in this expected growth is the newly-formed partnership between First Information Security and Adeya, a leading Swiss ICT security company. — SG
