IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker says that both factory revenue and unit shipments continued to grow steadily in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Worldwide vendor revenue grew 8,6% year-over-year to $2,6-billion in the fourth quarter, the 21st consecutive quarter of revenue growth. Shipments grew nearly twice as fast as revenue at 16,7% year-over-year to 635 933 units, making 4Q14 the fourth consecutive quarter of shipment growth. For the full year 2014, revenue and shipments improved 8,4% and 8,3% respectively to $9,4-billion and 2,1-million units.
“2014 saw a record number of serious data breaches causing both government agencies and companies to realise how susceptible they are to cyber threats that cut beyond boundaries,” says Ebenezer Obeng-Nyarkoh, senior research analyst, Worldwide Trackers Group.
“In spite of this, many companies still have not done enough to protect their systems, which could compromise their security and jeopardize sensitive data and information.”
Regional highlights
Security appliance revenue in the United States surpassed $1.0-billion in 4Q14, growing 13,5% year-over-year and making it the third fastest growing region after Latin America and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan). The US accounted for 39,4% of total worldwide revenue in the quarter, gaining 1,7 points of share year-over-year but losing 2.0 points compared to the previous quarter.
Latin America recorded the strongest year-over-year revenue growth in 4Q14 at 21,5% while shipment growth was 16,4% in the quarter. The region continues to show strong growth potential with just 4,7% share of total worldwide revenue, up half a point year-over-year, and 5,6% share of total worldwide shipments.
Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) captured 22,7% of total worldwide revenue in 4Q14 and 23,4% of total worldwide shipments and gained significant shares both year-over-year and sequentially following a strong performance by Huawei in China. Shipments in the region surpassed 100 000 units in the fourth quarter and grew almost twice as fast as revenue at 32,1% year-over-year.
The Europe, Middle East & Africa region ended the fourth quarter with a 26,9% share of total worldwide revenue, a loss of 2,3 share points year-over-year and one point compared to the third quarter. Unit shipments were up 9,8% year-over-year, driven largely by demand in the emerging markets in Central & Eastern Europe and the Middle East & Africa.
Japan and Canada combined accounted for 6,2% of total worldwide revenue in 4Q14. The two markets experienced year-over-year revenue declines of -20,4% and -0,4% respectively.
