According to Gartner, about 10% of overall IT security enterprise products are expected to be delivered through cloud by 2015.

The cloud delivery mechanism will be driven by security technology areas like secure email and secure Web gateways, remote vulnerability assessment, and Identity and Access Management (IAM).

According to Gartner, the cloud-based security services market is expected to reach $4.2bn by 2016.

A survey conducted by Gartner in January 2013 revealed that there is a higher demand for cloud-based security services and the security buyers from the US and Europe plan to increase the usage of common cloud services during the next 12 months.

According to the survey, 74% of respondents preferred email security services, while 27% preferred implement tokenisation as a cloud service.

Gartner research director Eric Ahlm said that demand remains high from buyers looking to cloud-based security services to address a lack of staff or skills, reduce costs, or comply with security regulations quickly.

"This shift in buying behaviour from the more traditional on-premises equipment toward cloud-based delivery models offers good opportunities for technology and service providers with cloud delivery capabilities, but those without such capabilities need to act quickly to adapt to this competitive threat," Ahlm added.

"Security providers that currently offer only a hardware/software-based solution requiring implementation should build product road maps that allow customers to move to the cloud at their pace.

Cloud based offering claimed to ensure easier deployment and relief from technology maintenance resulting cost savings as buyers require less hardware or software and require fewer implementation services.