Growth and diversity are prominently on display in the global managed & professional security services market. In terms of revenue, the market grew a significant 18.3% from 2017 to 2018. While all providers Frost & Sullivan evaluated experienced material growth, growth varied. For example, the Top 5 providers, accounting for 42% of the global market, grew 27.6% year-over-year. Massive size, global reach, consultative strength, industry expertise, and established relationships with large enterprises and governmental agencies are all contributors. The Top 5 global providers are: Accenture, Deloitte, EY, IBM, and PwC. In terms of broad service categories, professional security services represent 61% of the global market. Large enterprise clients (10,000 or more employees) represent the largest customer segment, again owing to their higher propensity for professional security services. Although North America continues to be the largest regional market, the other regions grew faster. While the largest global providers are prominent in all regions, select providers with regional footprints and greater concentration on managed security services are among five largest providers in the regions of Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Latin America, inclusive of Mexico. Within professional security services, assessment and advisory offerings continue their upswing. In managed security services, detection & response is growing at the fastest pace and in strategic importance down market (i.e., smaller sized clients). The fundamental drivers of market demand remain strong throughout the forecast period with double-digit, year-over-year growth expected in the near term. The perennial triad of advancing cyber threats, expanding surface areas, and talent shortages in security is the strongest demand driver for security services. Second is the overdue need organizations are experiencing in turning a new and better chapter in their security practices. An outsider with experience and broad perspectives in serving multiple clients across several verticals is well positioned to assist organizations in modernizing and strengthening their security practices. Despite robust market demand, providers must evolve in this competitive market. Similar to their clients’ digital innovation, their platform of services and how they offer them will be required to change in order to remain competitively vibrant in this market. In that regard, Frost & Sullivan has noted increasing instances of managed security services being repackaged as customer self-service offerings and providers that have historically concentrated on professional security services strategically investigating managed security services. Related to vibrancy is another attribute of this market: consolidation. The top 5 providers, whether measured globally or in each region, are growing faster and gaining a greater share of the market. This is evident in the most recent revenue growth from 2017 to 2018, and Frost & Sullivan expects this trend to continue albeit highly dependent on the large consulting firms uncovering encore professional security service engagements with their principal client bases. Author: Michael Suby