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.”
