IT Security Spending in the Middle East and Africa to See Double-Digit Growth in 2024, According to Latest IDC Forecast

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• Sheila Manek (smanek)  Email: smanek@idc.com  Phone number: +971 4 391 2741

Johannesburg – Spending on security products and services in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), excluding Israel, will grow 10.3% year on year in 2024 to reach $6.2 billion, according to the latest Worldwide Security Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC). The firm's newly released forecast indicates that this figure will reach $8.4 billion in 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.0% over the 2023–2027 forecast period.

Security software will account for the majority of the overall security spending in the region. The region's intensifying threat landscape and spike in cybercrime, alongside greater cybersecurity awareness and the need to ensure regulatory compliance, will drive strong demand for software solutions, resulting in software being the fastest growing technology group for the year.

"Across the MEA region, there has been a huge shift away from legacy infrastructure, with organizations increasingly embracing a digital-first mindset, particularly with regard to cloud adoption," says Yotasha Thaver, a research analyst for software and cybersecurity at IDC. "Such initiatives have expanded the threat surface of organizations within the region, leading to a surge in cybercrime such as phishing, DDoS attacks, data leakage, and social engineering. At the same time, cybersecurity awareness has increased considerably, as has the need to ensure regulatory compliance and improve the security posture of organizations. The MEA region is seeing a rapid expansion of cybersecurity initiatives and will therefore see huge growth over the next few years; however, with budget constraints persisting, the cost of security solutions remains a key area of concern."

From a vertical perspective, the financial services and government sectors will be the MEA region's biggest spenders on security products and services in 2024, together accounting for nearly a third of the market's value. They will remain the largest security spenders through 2027. Banks will account for 85.6% of the financial services sector's total spending on security products and services in 2024, due to the proliferation of targeted attacks and the sensitive nature of their business.

Government organizations in the region are prioritizing cybersecurity. Stricter compliance regulations are being introduced across the region, with major initiatives underway in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Accordingly, the sector is expected to spend more on services, particularly integration services and managed security services. There will also be significant investments in endpoint security software and network security software across both the government and financial services sectors.

The telecommunications industry, which is heavily focused on endpoint security, network security appliances, and managed security services, will be the third-largest contributor to overall security spending in the region in 2024.

IDC's Worldwide Security Spending Guide quantifies the global revenue opportunity for both core and next-generation security purchases, with detailed forecast data for security spending by 28 industries across 48 countries. This version (V1 2024) of the Spending Guide incorporates updated estimates for the impact of current global and local trends.

About IDC Spending Guides

IDC's Spending Guides provide a granular view of key technology markets from a regional, vertical industry, use case, buyer, and technology perspective. The guides are delivered via pivot table format or custom query tool, allowing the user to easily extract meaningful information about each market by viewing data trends and relationships.

To learn more, please contact Sheila Manek at smanek@idc.com  or on +971 4 446 3154.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

IDC in the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa

For the Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa region, IDC retains a coordinated network of offices in Riyadh, Nairobi, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, and Istanbul, with a regional center in Dubai. Our coverage couples local insights with international perspectives to provide a comprehensive understanding of markets in these dynamic regions. Our market intelligence services are unparalleled in depth, consistency, scope, and accuracy. IDC MEA currently fields over 130 analysts, consultants, and conference associates across the region. To learn more about IDC MEA, please visit www.idc.com/mea. You can follow IDC MEA on Twitter at @IDCMEA.

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