The worldwide Network Security market rose 10% to over $26-billion in 2025, within which the Application Security and Delivery portion totaled nearly $6-billion and grew 15%, according to Dell’Oro research.
This alignment matters because application-layer controls are increasingly setting the pace for broader network security investment decisions.
“As enterprises modernize customer-facing services and operationalise AI-enabled workflows, the web and API layer becomes the most visible choke point for availability, performance, and governance, which elevates the importance of integrated delivery and protection platforms,” says Mauricio Sanchez, senior director: enterprise security and networking at Dell’Oro Group.
“AI applications have accelerated API sprawl and raised the cost of inconsistent application policy. Application Security and Delivery grew 15% in 2025 because buyers are consolidating delivery and protection into integrated platforms,” Sanchez adds.
Additional highlights from the 4Q 2025 Network Security Quarterly Report include:
- WAF: Web and API protection remained a priority as enterprises sought consistent enforcement for rapidly changing application surfaces, with suite packaging and shared policy models emerging as key differentiators.
- ADC: Demand continued to shift toward software-centric delivery models that support portability, automation, and modern application architectures, with tighter integration with security policy becoming a more visible selection criterion.
- Firewalls: Buyers continued to fund foundational segmentation and policy enforcement, but procurement decisions increasingly centered on broader platform strategies that simplify operations and strengthen subscription attachment across the installed base.
- SSE: Cloud-delivered access controls remained an important architectural pillar, reinforcing consolidation expectations and increasing pressure for unified policy, consistent telemetry, and simplified administration across users, sites, and workloads.
- SWG Appliances: The segment continued to function primarily as a transition path for organisations modernising inspection and policy enforcement toward cloud-delivered architectures.