Due to rapid digitisation and regulatory attention on data and privacy, revenue from cyber security products and services reached $9.85 billion in 2021
According to a new report by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), India’s cyber security industry nearly doubled in size during the pandemic, with revenues from cyber security products and services rising from $5.04 billion in 2019 to $9.85 billion in 2021.
According to Rama Vedashree, CEO of DSCI, a data protection industry body established by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), the growth was largely fueled by rapid digitalisation, increased regulatory attention on data and privacy, and growing boardroom awareness of cyber threats, among other factors.
At the same time, despite continuing talent shortages, India’s cyber security workforce grew from 110,000 employees in 2019 to 218,000 in 2021.
However, it is not huge suppliers who are propelling the industry’s growth. India’s cyber security startup and product industry grew at a rapid pace, bringing in $1.37 billion in revenue.
India’s cyber security market is dominated by security services, with service companies leveraging their global skills and experience to deliver transformational and platform-based services.
The report noted that from consultation to implementation and management of security controls and frameworks, services companies have imbibed security right from DevOps to ensure their clients’ and end-user data and privacy are protected.
To serve their clients better, they’ve expanded their global footprint and opened security operations centres, cyber defence centres, and R&D centres all around the world.
According to the DSCI, global customers account for 80 to 85 percent of security services revenue, with Europe and the United States being the most lucrative markets due to strict regulation, higher security awareness levels, and larger cyber security budgets.
Furthermore, the two economies have more legacy technology that is being renovated and upgraded, resulting in increased spending in banking, manufacturing, energy, travel, and transportation, according to the report.
Siddharth Vishwanath, partner and risk advisory and cyber security leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said “There has been tremendous growth in the services industry in terms of people, process and technology,”
He added “The models of delivering services are advancing, creating platforms and assets that can automate certain portions of service delivery so that the number of people required to engage in repetitive non-value-adding work can be reduced,”
DSCI noted that India’s cyber security product firms are also expanding their wings through a network of channel partners, with the rise of cloud-based delivery models is further increasing their business in international markets.
The Asia-Pacific region, including India, accounting for 58 percent of the revenue earned in cyber security products while demand from North America was robust during the pandemic, nearly doubled from 2020.
Business continuity, remote working, increasing awareness around the threat landscape, and maintaining brand image, according to the DSCI, are some of the key causes driving demand for India’s cyber security products.
Debjani Ghosh, President of Nasscom, said “Cyber security is now a boardroom agenda and offers tremendous opportunities for India’s tech industry to build innovative solutions and services,”
She added “With enabling policies, an expanding skilled talent pool, domain expertise and a connected ecosystem with start-ups and academia, India is rapidly expanding its cyber security capabilities and emerging as the hub for all things digital with security and trust as its foundation,”