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It is true that a majority of Indian enterprises do not look beyond anti-virus solutions and firewalls when it comes to network security. However, there are companies, especially in sectors like banking, finance, insurance, software development, BPO and telecom services that have been viewing network security rather holistically. For them, network security is not just about tools and technologies, but also about people and processes. These companies also realize that security is a 24x7 affair and more than that, it is a dynamic process and not just a one-time deployment of firewalls, anti-virus solutions or IDS.

All this resulted in a lot of activity in the area of network security services in FY 2002–03. Many organizations outsourced works like network security architecture design and implementation, policy design, network penetration study, vulnerability and threat assessment, security audit, network security diagnostic review for internal threats, and integration of application and network security.

VOICE&DATA estimated the market for network security services at around Rs 33.5 crore in FY 2002–03. Datacraft, Sify, Tulip IT Services, HCL Comnet, Ramco Systems, Wipro and Bangalore Labs were some of the leading companies. Datacraft was the leader with around Rs 14 crore in revenues from network security-related services.

Managed Security Services
Managed security services took off last year even though on a small scale, with HCL Comnet (15 customers) and Bangalore Labs (12 customers) taking the lead. HCL Comnet, which can easily be termed as the pioneer of MSS in India, delivers security monitoring and management services from its Operations Management Center (OMC) based at Noida near Delhi. Bangalore Labs was another serious player.

At least two other companies, Sify and Datacraft, are looking at managed security services seriously. While Sify’s service is currently being rolled out, Datacraft’s security operations center is likely to come up in Bangalore soon.

Roadblocks
The biggest hurdle in the growth of network security services in India is the fact that most enterprises still consider security as a plug-and-play affair. Buying a firewall or an IDS is perceived to be panacea to all security-related woes.

Trust is the major issue between service providers and their prospective clients when it comes to outsourcing of end-to-end management and monitoring of network security. Most Indian companies are wary of outsourcing network security management even though the same companies are increasingly favoring outsourcing their IT and network management functions. Scarcity of trained network security professionals has also been a major issue. In fact, it is also one of the major reasons behind organizations outsourcing network security management and monitoring.

Outlook
Network security is a growing concern, especially among enterprises where network uptime is closely linked to the fate of their businesses. Also, it is not just a plug-and-play affair but a complex thing. On top of that, there is a scarcity of trained network security professionals. Network security service providers could do well in this kind of environment. There is no doubt that MSS would become an integral part of network security in the near future because its need is increasingly felt by a large number of enterprises. Security service providers, however, need to do two things. One, build trust and two, sensitize business managers about the need to look at network security from a holistic perspective.

Ravi Shekhar Pandey