Just found this: If it was already post then I am sorry.
The arrival of behemoths like Cisco Systems
(CSCO) into the Internet firewall market could
threaten smaller software players in that niche, a
new study from International Data Corporation
warns.
"Cisco represents the first entrant from one of three
potential camps of 'barbarians,' or vendors from
outside the firewall market, that could wreak havoc
in the firewall business," states the report,
Worldwide Firewall Market: 1996-2001, authored
by analyst Ted Julian.
Other potential new competitors include network
operating systems vendors, management software
makers, and hardware manufacturers.
Two recent developments underscore the trend of
bigger players getting involved. Cisco recently paid
$40 million for low-end firewall software from
Global Internet.Com to round out Cisco's line.
And Microsoft (MSFT) has hinted that it will build
more firewall features into the 2.0 version of its
Proxy Server, which goes into beta this month.
In response, firewall vendors Trusted Information
Systems (TISX) and Network-1 Software and
Technology have announced alliances with
Microsoft.
Cisco entered the firewall business last year and
quickly grabbed the second-largest market share, 8
percent, behind Check Point Software
Technologies (CHKPF), which holds a
commanding 35 percent market share.
Tied with Cisco for second place at 8 percent is
Trusted Information Systems (TISX).
Fourth in market share was Raptor Systems
(RAPT) with 7 percent, followed by Secure
Computing (SCUR) at 5 percent, IBM (IBM) with
3 percent, and the remaining 34 percent split among
various other companies.
In other findings on the firewall market in 1996,
IDC reported that:
36,610 units were sold, a jump of 266 percent
over 1995. It predicts 1.12 million firewalls will be
sold in the year 2001. However, IDC expects the
growth rate to slow over the next five years.
Prices for firewall software fell dramatically, from
an average of $16,000 in 1995 to $6,000 in 1996.
Competition was one factor, but several vendors
stopped bundling firewall software with a PC or
workstation last year, leading to the decline. By the
year 2000, IDC expects the average price to
stabilize at $650.
1996 firewall revenues reached $220 million, up
about 37 percent from 1995.
Most firewalls were sold in the United States,
but the U.S. portion of the market will decline from
a high of 68 percent in 1996 to 38 percent in 2001.
At 15 percent of units shipped, Western Europe
was the second largest sector last year, followed by
the Asia-Pacific region at 8 percent, Japan at 4
percent, and the rest of world at 5 percent. |
