Worldwide Cloud-Based Security Services to Grow 21 Percent in 2017

Growth in worldwide cloud-based security services will remain strong, reaching $5.9 billion in 2017, up 21 percent from 2016, according to Gartner, Inc. Overall growth in the cloud-based security services market is above that of the total information security market. Gartner estimates the cloud-based security services market will reach close to $9 billion by 2020.

SIEM, IAM and emerging technologies are the fastest growing cloud-based security services segments.

"Email security, web security and identity and access management (IAM) remain organizations' top-three cloud priorities," said Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner. Mainstream services that address these priorities, including security information and event management (SIEM) and IAM, and emerging services offer the most significant growth potential. Emerging offerings are among the fastest-growing segments and include threat intelligence enablement, cloud-based malware sandboxes, cloud-based data encryption, endpoint protection management, threat intelligence and web application firewalls (WAFs).

Increasing security threats, operational and cost benefits and staffing pressure drive market growth.

Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are driving growth as they are becoming increasingly aware of security threats. They are also seeing that cloud deployments provide opportunities to reduce costs, especially for powering and cooling hardware-based security equipment and data center floor space.

"The cloud medium is a natural fit for the needs of SMBs. Its ease of deployment and management, pay-as-you-consume pricing and simplified features make this delivery model attractive for organizations that lack staffing resources," said Contu.

The enterprise sector is also driving growth as they realize the operational benefits derived from a cloud-based security delivery model.

"Cloud-based delivery models will remain a popular choice for security practices, with deployment expanding further to controls, such as cloud-based sandboxing and WAFs," said Contu. According to a global survey conducted by Gartner at the beginning of 2016, public cloud will be the prime delivery model for more than 60 percent of security applications by the end of 2017.

"The ability to leverage security controls that are delivered, updated and managed through the cloud — and therefore require less time-consuming and costly implementations and maintenance activities — is of significant value to enterprises," said Contu.

Cloud-based security services market growth presents opportunities and challenges for providers.

"On the one hand, new greenfield demand arising from emerging requirements from SMBs is driving growth. On the other hand, new competitive dynamics and alternative pricing practices threaten traditional business models," said Contu. Providers need to adapt to the shift from an on-premises to a cloud-delivery business model. "Overall, one of the main focus areas for providers relates to the shift from owning and selling a product, to selling and supporting ongoing service delivery."

Accenture to Achieve Gender Balanced Workforce of 50:50 by 2025

 
Accenture has announced that it will achieve a gender-balanced workforce, with 50 percent women and 50 percent men, by 2025.
 
“Diversity makes our business stronger and more innovative and, most important, it makes the world a better place,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman and CEO. “With this new goal, we are sending an important message to our people and our clients confirming our commitment to a gender-balanced workforce.”

 
Currently, Accenture has 150,000 women, nearly 40 percent of its global workforce. Over the past several years the company has set milestones on the path to gender equality. These include:

·  Setting a goal to reach 40 percent women new hires by 2017 – and achieving it a year early

·  Promoting its largest percentage of women to the managing director level in 2016 (30 percent)

·  Growing its percentage of women managing directors to 25 percent globally by 2020

Accenture has taken a number of steps to attract, retain, advance and sponsor women on its path to achieving a gender balanced workforce, including:                                               

·  Sponsoring the company’s most senior women to advance in P&L roles.  Since its inception six years ago, approximately 80 percent of the women in the global executive leadership program have been promoted or have significantly expanded their areas of responsibility.

·  Delivering on a commitment to transparency. The company has set and published clear, measurable targets to grow its number of women, and has published its workforce demographics in many countries including the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Japan, India and ASEAN countries.

·  Launching initiatives that provide women with in-demand skills. For example, the company’s Women in Technology program helps fast-track the careers of high-performing women toward the position of Technical Architect, a high-demand and short-supply role.

·  Collaborating across business and government to further gender equality in the workplace, with commitments that include the White House Equal Pay Pledge, Paradigm for Parity, and Catalyst CEO Champions for Change.

“We embrace diversity as a source of creativity and competitive advantage,” said Ellyn Shook, chief leadership & human resources officer at Accenture. “As we work toward ‘50 by 25,’ our ultimate goal is to create a truly human environment where people have a real sense of belonging, where they can show up every day, be who they are and be their best, both professionally and personally.”