From: Gary Porter <grporter@nps.navy.mil>
Study projects hot growth for network firewalls
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (Reuters) - Sales of firewall software, the programs
that protect computer networks against unauthorized users or viruses, are
projected to grow to $1.8 billion by 2002, according to a report by
research firm International Data Corporation.
But revenue growth in the firewall market will gradually slow over the
next few years, after the market surged by 143 percent from 1996 to 1997,
IDC said.
"For all these rosy forecasts, we believe the firewall market and all its
major vendors are migrating toward a broader orientation," said Chris
Christiansen of IDC, in a statement. IDC said that in the short term,
firewalls will become platforms for the deployment of other products, such
as corporate security suites.
"Longer term, the firewall will diminish as a distinct market and become a
feature of other products," IDC said. Check Point Software Technologies
Ltd. (Nasdaq:CHKPF) was the top firewall vendor in 1997, with a 23 percent
share of the market, IDC said. Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) was second
with a 19 percent share, and AXENT Technologies Inc., which owns software
maker Raptor Systems, garnered seven percent.
The recent growth in the sector was driven by businesses upgrading their
firewalls as the Internet matured and by a demand for multiple Internet
firewalls to provide companies with high availability and throughput.
Firewall software restricts the flow of information between a company's
network and the Internet in order to keep sensitive information private.
-o-
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Received on Fri Aug 7 12:41:01 1998