The concept of managed security services is having a major impact on businesses and their IT concerns, it has been suggested.
Scott Crawford, managing director of security and risk management at industry analyst Enterprise Management Associates, has started that managed and hosted solutions have become a major alternative to traditional services.
He added that the emergence of managed security has changed many perceptions of data protection within organisations, as the idea of outsourcing such issues was not popular a few years ago.
"The efficiencies of a hosted model, relief from the burdens of technology maintenance in a fast-changing field and increased interest overall in the outsourcing of IT are making enterprises take a new and different view of security services," he explained.
Recent research by the International Data Corporation revealed that revenues for the western European security appliance market reached $399.5 million (£266 million) in the first quarter of this year.
The figures suggest businesses remain focused on investing in IT security services.