"Customers place more into their security spending budgets when they see the value of their information," said Ho. "Over the last few years there has been more and more data exposure cases (such as the recent issue of the Independent Police Complaints Council). People are increasingly aware of the importance of data protection and the spending has reflected this."

The Microsoft CSO said that according to IDC's latest IT market predictions, IT spending for Asia Pacific region ex-Japan is predicted to exceed US$52 billion in 2007, registering a double-digit growth of 10 percent over 2006." We believe that security will continue to be one of the key IT initiatives in IT budget planning," added Ho.

Biggest market challenges in 2007?

"The biggest market challenge next year is to convince top management that security--particularly information security--is not just about keeping the enterprise running but also about the enterprise's creditability," said Kung from Websense. "It is a life or death situation."

"It continues to be helping businesses understand the value of their information and taking appropriate measures to safeguard it," said Microsoft's Ho. "Enterprises do understand the benefit of following security frameworks but sometimes they lack the expertise to interpret the guidance presented."