The good news & bad news
Lets talk about e-security and the ASP model. The good news is that large corporations are taking e-security out of the back room and funding security support as a front line imperative. Industry projections emphasise this trend. Market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC) projects the market for managed security services to grow to US$2.24 billion by 2003 and also expects the market for content security to grow from US$66 million in 1999 to US$952 million by 2004. Frost & Sullivan, another research firm, values the 1999 European Internet security marketplace at US$489.9 million and predicts it will reach US$2.74 billion by 2006.
The bad news is that the ASP model and e-security don't equate. Accessing security applications offsite (with the possible exception of PKI due to third party support) for transmission, confidentiality, information, or intrusion security doesn't match today's infrastructure requirements. Instead, security software, appliances, hardware, and telecommunications infrastructure are an inside out affair; not visa versa. Unfortunately, ASPs themselves are currently in the same reactive security mode as are other industry sectors. That is, they're reactive, subject to intrusions, DOS attacks, virus infections, malicious code violation, and other destruction brought on by an ever-growing cracker community.
So even as money becomes available to promote a fledgling security ASP industry, a transformation in the ASP model is needed... and it's coming.
