Potential Growth of Cyber Security in Middle East Market

Cyber Security is more than just a buzz word today. For businesses with a global ambition and geography it is all about protecting its data, information and strategies from prying eyes. The days of human fronted espionage are over and now can be probably enjoyed in super spy heist themed movies. The new way to cause harm is through a simple and effective hack. Once your system is breached you are open to attacks which can transactional and intrinsic in nature. This is where cyber security plays a roll. And that is why it is one of the functions that show the most potential growth in the Middle Eastern market today.

The Middle East cyber security market is valued at USD 14.48 billion in 2017, expected to scale a further value of USD 34.6 billion estimated by 2023 at a staggering CAGR of 15.62%. The Middle East is moving rapidly while it adopts transformative digital technologies, thanks to the ever increasing penetration caused by the internet, an eagerness shown towards the adoption of IoT, and cloud, that helps enable economic diversification. The region witnesses a spike in the adoption of cyber security solutions especially across digital platforms to avoid what has become an increasingly complex battery of threat perceptions.

Network Security will hold largest market share

Middle Eastern society ambitiously adopts new age technology, modern online entertainment, growing digital media trends, and social media platforms. Jordan, especially, has developed into a regional tech start-up hub, due to an ICT focused education system, low start-up costs, and the business-friendly government.

Its growing reputation attracts international capital which helps to tap into the region’s underserved growing online market. Many other countries also recognize the potential of applying ICT to improve both their social and economic development. Kuwait, has taken steps to develop a digital economy, with the development of national-level policies for e-health and e-government. In 2013, Saudi Arabia received recognition from the World Bank, acknowledging the country’s efforts in executing business reforms, which include electronic filing and new payment systems.

By recognizing the sheer potential of ICT in improving economic and social development, Iran is also taking steps to develop a digital economy. This is why, with the increase in attack frequency and the size and scale and nature of the attacks, there is now a high demand for secure networks in order to cope with anything, and to avoid facing constant disruptions and downtime which can be diabolical for this nature and line of industry. Thus, various organizations in the region have adopted network security measures, in order to overcome any disturbances to their infrastructure and to keep their all-important and very precious data safe.

Key Developments in the Market

• Cisco in August 2017 acquired Observable Networks. The idea was to diversify Cisco’s security portfolio to enable cloud security capabilities while also providing security support and compliance for applications deployed on a public cloud platform, such as Amazon Web Services (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) Azure.
• IBM acquired Agile 3 Solutions, a San Francisco-based company November 2017. The company specialises in developing software used by C-Suite and senior executives to better visualize, understand, and manage risks associated with the protection of sensitive data. The acquisition was aimed at complementing the company’s security solutions across platforms.

In November 2017 Saudi Arabia  set up a new cyber authority, which is linked to the National Cyber Security Commission. This was done specifically to protect information technology networks, systems, and data, and improve online security for organizations.