The information security market is seeing significant growth and has become a highly-valued segment of the tech sector. Reports and statistics being released are showing notable advance, with Pitchbook reporting that public pure-play infosec companies are seeing over 20% revenue growth on average.
There are multiple reasons for this growth, but a key factor is that cyber-threats are not limited to one market, they impact almost all sectors, businesses and individuals, in all countries and markets. In addition, politics, cross-border attacks and wars are driving the need for thorough security to be in-place. Microsoft Digital Defence Report 2022 uncovered 237 cyber operations against Ukraine leading up to and during the first six weeks of invasion, with critical infrastructure being a key target for attacks.
Whether organisations are outsourcing infosec through specialist companies, hiring permanent employees to manage, or using contractors to deliver the most up-to-date projects; investment is being made into information security and this is expected rise robustly regardless of economic conditions.
In Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2022 Chief Information Survey, 19.0% of executives marked security software as least likely to reduce spending in 2023—up from 15.0% in Q3—while no executives reported that it was most likely to receive cuts.
The considerable growth and investment in the market means the demand for talent is going to increase, and with the threats becoming more advanced, the competition for the most up-to-date skills is only going to rise. Contractor’s are a great solution here; they have experienced and gained visibility of a wide range of companies and projects, often much faster recruitment processes and offer rapid scalability.
Allan Smith, Business Development Director at Fruition Consulting said: “In an era of relentless cyber threats and rapid technological advancements, the information security market is experiencing unprecedented growth. As businesses and individuals face increasingly sophisticated risks, the demand for top-tier security talent is soaring. To stay ahead of the curve and safeguard your digital assets, it’s imperative to invest in the latest security solutions and embrace diversity in talent acquisition.”
Market Drivers:
- Threat surfaces continue to expand with cloud, mobile, IoT, and OT environments. With multiple attack vectors there is no single solution, requiring investment across multiple security segments.
- 70% of security and IT teams indicate that they struggle to keep up with security alert volume.
- 40% of global enterprises have suffered at least one cloud breach over the past year, according to a vendor survey.
- One study shows that 22% of consumers have been victims of an account takeover.
Start ups:
- In 2023, the total serviceable addressable market for infosec startups estimated at $126.7B, led by endpoint security and identity and access management.
- Top funded infosec startups include Lacework, Netskope, Fireblocks, Securonix, Snyk, OneTrust, 1Password, and Rubrik. Most are cloud security, data security, or identity companies.
- Risks for startups include competition from large cloud providers, incumbents acquiring aggressively, high customer churn rates.
Talent Overview
LinkedIn’s overview of the current talent landscape states the hiring demand for this talent is ‘very high’, (in both the UK and US) meaning it is very difficult to source and hire talent – especially the top-tier within this professional pool.
The capital cities in both the UK & US are housing a large percentage of these professionals however, key cities are growing in numbers, and with remote working becoming increasingly more popular and accessible, tapping into this talent is crucial.
With the nature of cyber security threats forever changing, businesses of all sizes – and individuals – will continue to face them. And with the repercussions of an attack becoming more severe, it is not surprising the demand is increasing for skilled professionals to protect and secure data, applications, identity & access management, endpoint, network and operations.
DEI Comments
In times like these, when demand for talent is so high, it is important to not loose sight of diversity, equality and inclusion strategies. The gender split across the talent market is 80:20 (male: female), so considerably male-dominated. However, it is important to consider other diverse metrics outside of gender to ensure innovation, collaboration and better performance when recruiting for these roles.
Sarah Pawson, Founder & Managing Director at Fruition Consulting said “We have a great opportunity, and responsibility, to improve the tech sector’s diversity levels as we continue sourcing and placing the future talent into the workplace.
The skills gap has exacerbated the existing diversity gap we’ve been seeing in tech for many years now. It’s more important than ever that employers and their agency partners work to combat the inequalities in our sector by championing diverse hiring and outside-the-box thinking when it comes to sourcing candidates.
A diverse workforce improves productivity, fosters creativity, drives innovation and attracts and retains employees. Not only that, it gives businesses a better understanding of a much wider client pool and a more positive overall brand – ultimately, improving the bottom line.
We are partnering with our clients to not only find the top talent and specialist skills for the roles required, but also to advise and be a diverse partner, supporting businesses achieve DE&I goals.“
For the full report, please contact allan.smith@fruitionconsult.com
Sources: Pitchbook – Emerging Tech Research: information Security Overview’, LinkedIn Talent Insights Oct 2023, Microsoft Digital Defense Report and Morgan Stanley’s Q4 2022 Chief Information Survey
