Firewall market set to grow by 6.7%

New research from Frost & Sullivan reveals the market for firewall software is set to grow by 6.7% annually to 2016.

The market earned revenue of $US3 billion in 2009, the research suggests, while that figure is set to grow to $US4.6 billion.

“The firewall’s ability to define and defend a network perimeter has earned itself a reputation as an indispensable security product,” F&S analyst Chris Rodriguez said in a statement.

“The firewall initially underwent much change and innovation, with multiple product methodologies developed in a short span of a few years,” said Rodriguez. “Since then, vendors have introduced new features, but customers have essentially been using inspection firewalls for over a decade.”

The survey notes just five companies controlled 72% of the firewall market in 2009, compared to 60 major vendors 2007, 40 in 2008 and 30 in 2009.