Virtual security appliances are becoming increasingly popular among companies, as IT security seeks to align itself with enterprise-wide virtualisation, green IT and cost-efficiency initiatives, according to a new VSA survey from IDC.
The survey found that 72.4% of respondents are currently allocating funding for VSAs in their budgets and VSAs are in process of being deployed at more than half of respondent sites. Another 47% are currently testing the vendor offerings.
Jon Crotty, research analyst of security products and services at IDC, said: “The shift toward VSAs will radically change the appliance market, fueling explosive growth over the next five years.
According to the survey, a high percentage of VSAs are fully deployed among small to medium-sized companies, as compared to large and very large companies and nearly 60% of respondent companies have funded or will fund VSA purchases from their general IT budgets.
In addition, almost three quarters of respondent companies expect the VSA purchasing cycle to last between 4 and 15 months, the firm said.
Mr Crotty added: The results of this IDC survey provide strong evidence that despite economic uncertainty and tight IT budget constraints, virtual security appliance adoption is robust and adoption of this approach will continue into the foreseeable future.”
