Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Integration of Capabilities Transforming the Asia-Pacific Network Security Market, 2020, finds that enterprises' heightened threats from criminal entities and state-sponsored actors are strongly encouraging them to adopt network security solutions. Driven largely by the firewall segment and integrated security appliances (ISA) segment, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) network security market is expected to reach $6.94 billion by 2024 from $4.75 billion in 2019, up at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9%. However, the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the network security market, and its future growth will also be affected over the next one to two years as the market grapples to recover.

"Going forward, security vendors need to continue fostering strong integration and collaboration with third-party vendors, to fortify and strengthen their in-house offerings and provide a holistic solutions portfolio," said Vivien Pua, Information & Communication Technologies Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "From a market segment perspective, the firewall segment is the largest and fastest-growing market due to rapid adoption of next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) across the region. Similarly, intrusion detection systems/intrusion prevention systems (IDS/IPS) is seeing an emergence of next-generation technology in the form of Next-Generation IPS (NGIPS) as it (NGIPS) provides greater granularity in security data, which allows for better network security management.”

Pua added: "In addition, the secure sockets layer virtual private network (SSL VPN) segment is also expected to grow steadily over the next 5 years, as remote working becomes more prevalent in the region."

To tap into the growth prospects presented by the network security market, vendors should focus on the following:

• Regional 5G Deployments: Partner with service providers to design a network equipped with a wide variety of advanced security safeguards.
• Need for connectivity amid remote working: Provide business continuity packages or emergency licensing models to help enterprises cope with the rising need for VPN.
• Business opportunities in China: Work with local clients wishing to expand their business outside China as vendors already have two sets of products compatible with both Chinese and international standards. 
• SD-WAN with next-generation firewall features: Offer integrated products to meet market demand for robust and secure SD-WAN.

Integration of Capabilities Transforming the Asia-Pacific Network Security Market, 2020 is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan's Information & Communication Technologies research and analysis available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.