Safety FIRST.(security software's future)(Brief Article)

IN AN EFFORT to increase profitability and expand trusted relationships, companies are spending more money than ever on Internet security software. In fact, IDC finds that worldwide revenue will increase from $4 billion in 1999 to more than $11 billion in 2004. "The ability to use security technologies to enable greater access to corporate content deepens and stabilizes relationships," says Internet security analyst Brian Burke.

The company also predicts that the biggest opportunity in the market will be security authentication, authorization, and administration software. This segment will grow faster than any other, with a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent from 1999 to 2004. By comparison, the next-nearest segments -- firewall and antivirus--will only grow 17 percent.