KUALA LUMPUR, 5 JUNE 2009 -- Despite an expected dip in Malaysia’s security software market, analyst firm IDC Malaysia remains cautiously optimistic about the sector.
IDC programme manager, ASEAN software research, Roger Ling, said the company’s latest survey of IT software spending in Asia Pacific showed an expected dip of minus 1.8 per cent in Malaysia, but a steady recovery to 5.5 per cent growth by next year.
“Spending on IT software is weaker in 2009, but we expect a rebound in 2010,” said Ling. “IT spending in 2009 in APEC is at minus 0.96 per cent this year.”
“However, security investment suffers less in economic downturns, with IT spending remaining the same or slightly more than the previous year,” he added.
He said the recent IDC survey, conducted with 1,341 IT executives in Australia, India, South Korea, China, and Singapore, showed that 36.6 per cent of the respondents said they will be increasing their IT spending on infrastructure software in the next 18 months.
Steady recovery
“Malaysian IT spending, which will dip to minus 1.8 per cent, then projected to rise to 5.5 per cent by 2010, signifies a steady recovery,” said Ling. “Given the bleak economic condition, the forecast for Malaysia shows that the top two priorities are messaging and Web security, and data prevention loss.”
“We recommend that Malaysian firms continue to view security management as a marathon and not a sprint,” he said. “Also more regulatory intervention and monitoring from the government would help organisations achieve better corporate governance as well as re-establish public confidence.”
“You are only as strong as your weakest link,” he said. “We live in an era of globalisation and this results in growing security challenges as cyber crime becomes big business.
Ling advised company leaders: “You must understand your business, know your weaknesses. And your spending should address the weakest link.”
