Mobile Security Posed for Big Growth | Channelnomics: The Business ...

Scan any business office, conference hall, airport terminal or coffeehouse and you?ll see them: tablet and smartphones. Literally hundreds of millions of these mobile devices are sold every year, as people use them for personal and business computing. And that?s creating an increasing need for security.

According to a new report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the worldwide market for mobile security software and solutions will top $14.4 billion by 2017. The biggest markets will be North America, Western Europe, China and Japan.

The projection makes perfect sense, as these devices are harboring more applications and data with each successive generation. Hackers have already begun targeting tablets and smartphones with malware. And soon, threats will morph into cross-platform attacks in which hackers will leverage insecure smartphones to tap into corporate networks.

What?s more interesting is that this is not exclusively a consumer problem. The GIA report notes the vendors in the best position to capitalize on this trend: They include the obvious ? Kaspersky Lab, McAfee, Sophos, Symantec. But also making the list are Barracuda Networks, Blue Coat, Check Point, Huawei Technologies, Juniper Networks, Cisco, Top Layer and Enterasys.

GIA?s projections of the vendors that will lead in mobile security show that the threat and marketplace is not about handsets alone. It?s about protecting infrastructure, data and applications where they reside. Smartphones and tablets are vulnerable, but they are just stepping stones to the real treasure in data centers and cloud service providers.

Equally interesting is what vendors aren?t on the list. Where are Apple, Google and Microsoft? What about?the manufacturers of smartphones and tablets like HTC, Samsung, LG, Nokia and Motorola? And, of course, where are the carriers ? AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and others? The report doesn?t speak to the issue of embedded security, but the conspicuous absence of these hardware and operating system vendors infers the need for added security measures for years to come.

There are several obstacles to this security opportunity. A new system of cooperation between security vendors, carriers, device manufacturers, solution providers and telephony agents needs to form. The often unstructured means by which applications find their way to devices and wireless networks will need more organization to ensure quality of service, true security and unobstructed user experience. Today, the mobility market just doesn?t have that.

The opportunity is potentially enormous for savvy solution providers. Already businesses ranging from enterprises to small shops are turning to their solution and managed service providers for technical and management support of mobile devices. Several packages exist for managing fleets of wireless, distributed devices. Providing mobile security services and support will likely prove a big business for the channel.

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Lawrence M. Walsh is CEO and president of The 2112 Group, a technology business advisory service that specializes in optimizing indirect channels and partner relationships. He?s also the executive director of the Channel Vanguard Council. He is the former publisher of Channel Insider and editor of VARBusiness Magazine. You can reach him at lmwalsh@the2112group.com.

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Larry Walsh:@lmwalsh2112| Channelnomics: @channelnomics

Source: http://channelnomics.com/2011/08/26/mobile-security-posed-big-growth/

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