What Gartner's Forecast Actually Says
Gartner's 2020 market‑trend report projects that worldwide spending on cloud‑based security solutions will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 12% from 2017 to 2020, reaching an estimated $12.3 billion. The forecast is based on surveys of enterprise IT leaders, vendor revenue data, and analysis of emerging threat vectors. In plain language, organizations are allocating more budget each year to protect workloads that live in public, private, or hybrid clouds.
- What Gartner's Forecast Actually Says
- Why Cloud‑Based Security Is Gaining Traction
- Key Segments Within Cloud‑Based Security
- Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
- Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
- Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)
- Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
- Regional Variations in Adoption
- Implications for Security Budgets and Procurement
- How to Validate Gartner Data for Your Organization
- Future Outlook Beyond 2020
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Why Cloud‑Based Security Is Gaining Traction
Three inter‑related forces drive the upward trend:
- Shift to cloud workloads: By 2020, Gartner estimates that 70% of enterprises will have at least one critical application running in the cloud, creating a larger attack surface.
- Evolving threat landscape: Ransomware, supply‑chain attacks, and mis‑configured storage buckets are increasingly targeting cloud assets.
- Cost and agility benefits: Cloud security services (e.g., CSPM, CASB, cloud‑native firewalls) are subscription‑based, allowing faster scaling and predictable OPEX.
Key Segments Within Cloud‑Based Security
Gartner groups cloud security into four primary categories. Understanding each helps buyers match solutions to needs.
Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
Acts as a policy enforcement point between users and cloud services, providing visibility, data loss prevention, and compliance controls.
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
Automates detection and remediation of mis‑configurations across IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS platforms.
Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)
Provides runtime protection for virtual machines, containers, and serverless functions.
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
Combines networking (SD‑WAN) and security (ZTNA, CASB) into a single cloud‑delivered service.
Regional Variations in Adoption
While the global CAGR is 12%, regional growth rates differ. North America leads with the highest spend per capita, while APAC shows the fastest year‑over‑year percentage increase due to rapid cloud migration.
| Region | 2020 Cloud Security Spend (USD bn) | CAGR 2017‑2020 |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 5.1 | 10% |
| Europe | 3.4 | 12% |
| APAC | 2.8 | 15% |
| Rest of World | 1.0 | 9% |
Implications for Security Budgets and Procurement
Enterprises should consider the following when planning 2020 and beyond:
- Allocate ~12% of total security budget to cloud‑native solutions to keep pace with spend growth.
- Prioritize tools that integrate with existing SIEM and identity platforms to avoid silos.
- Evaluate vendor roadmaps for multi‑cloud support; hybrid environments are now the norm.
How to Validate Gartner Data for Your Organization
Because Gartner's numbers are aggregated, each company must map the macro trends to its own environment. A practical three‑step approach:
Future Outlook Beyond 2020
Although the original Gartner report stops at 2020, subsequent research indicates the growth trajectory continues, driven by:
- Zero‑trust networking becoming a baseline requirement.
- Expansion of confidential computing and homomorphic encryption services.
- Regulatory pressure (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) mandating tighter data‑in‑cloud controls.
Organizations that embed cloud security into their digital transformation strategies will be better positioned to manage risk and capitalize on cloud‑first initiatives.