Research firm predicts bonanza time for remote access market

The Secure Sockets Layer market is ready to grow like crazy according to a market survey by analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.

This year, total revenue for equipment that supports the Internet-browser based remote access technology is projected to be $89.7 million. That will grow to $1 billion by the end of 2008, according to the report titled “World SSL VPN Products Market,” written by analyst Jason Wright.

Currently, U.S. customers buy the bulk of SSL remote access gear, which isn’t unusual because U.S. companies generally have a stronger interest in security gear, the report says. Part of that interest seems to be driven by impending legislation demanding tighter security in certain businesses sectors such as finance and healthcare, the survey says.

In addition, the report says it is likely that SSL remote access devices will evolve into multi-function security platforms. They already manipulate packets at Layer 7, so it makes sense that other packet manipulations could be made at the same point in the network. The study says to expect these devices to support application layer firewalling, content filtering, and intrusion detection and prevention based on intrusion signatures and behavior.

For those who have not bought any SSL remote access gear yet, the report contains one data point to encourage doing so: the satisfaction level of current customers is high.

This is just a sample of what the study contains, and if you want to know more, you have to buy the report from Frost & Sullivan. Contact Richard Sear at rsear@frost.com if you want to do so.