According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker, vendor revenue in the overall security appliance market grew 9,7% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021 (4Q21) totaling more than $5,8-billion and representing a $515-million increase compared to the same quarter in 2020 (4Q20).

Security appliance shipments increased 9,2% year over year in 4Q21 to more than 1,5-million units.

Each of the product categories within the security appliances market – Unified Threat Management (UTM), Content Management, Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDP), Traditional Firewall, and Virtual Private Network (VPN) – delivered positive results in 4Q21.

The UTM category had the fastest year-over-year growth in the quarter at 12,3%.

“Even though supply chain issues had varying degrees of impact among security appliances vendors, the market continued its healthy performance during the last quarter of 2021 and security appliances are expected to maintain their relevance within security strategies designed to protect hybrid IT ecosystems,” says Carlo Dávila, research manager: Worldwide Enterprise Trackers at IDC.

The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region led the way with 13,7% year-over-year growth in 4Q21, followed by the Asia/Pacific region with 10,4% growth. The combined Americas region (US, Canada, and Latin America) accounted for 40,7% of the worldwide security appliance market revenues in 4Q21, with Latin America showing the fastest revenue growth of 9,4% in the quarter.

Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Security Appliance Vendor Revenue, Market Share and Growth, Fourth Quarter of 2021 (revenue in US$ millions)
Vendor 4Q21 Revenue 4Q21 Market Share 4Q20 Revenue 4Q20 Market Share 4Q21/4Q20 Growth
1. Cisco $885.8 15.3% $770.1 14.6% 15.0%
2. Palo Alto Networks $883.4 15.2% $794.0 15.0% 11.3%
3. Fortinet $776.2 13.4% $642.0 12.1% 20.9%
4. Check Point $462.6 8.0% $439.9 8.3% 5.2%
5. Huawei $189.5 3.3% $204.2 3.9% -7.2%
Rest of Market $2,604.9 44.9% $2,437.1 46.1% 6.9%
Total $5,802.3 100.0% $5,287.4 100.0% 9.7%
Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker Q4 2021, March 10, 2022