According to market valuations and future predictions, experts believe the cybersecurity market is slowing due to new selective tendencies many venture capitalist and corporate executives are embodying in relation to investments in security. The market is showing signs of contraction as companies become more aware of what type of security they are purchasing. The first signs of deceleration appeared earlier this year and have been supported by data that suggest the slowing of both front end capital investments in cybersecurity start-ups and back-end final product purchases. CB Insights says capital investments into cybersecurity companies in the third quarter of this year are down 24% from the same quarter last year. UBS’ Brent Thrill suggest that firms in the market will have an average growth of 20% this year and 17% next year.
Product purchasing has been bearish as well. Fortinet, a major cybersecurity provider that specializes in firewalls and associated software, lowered its third quarter predictions last year. Chief Executive Ken Xie suggests that corporate customers were “buying with less urgency than last year.” With this being said, security still remains at the forefront of the minds of corporate executives. According to a Citigroup survey, 79% of CIOs plan to increase their spending on network security over the next year. Analysts suggest that the decline in spending is due to companies becoming more focused on cloud based offerings instead of traditional hardware and firewalls. The current depressed valuations could spur a large cybersecurity investing boom in the near future.