December 21, 2021
In 2020, cybersecurity companies with operations in India generated revenues worth USD 11 billion
About 230 players that are innovating in this space generated revenues of USD 1.02 billion
The currently estimated employee base in the cybersecurity services space is about 110K
There is a scope of collaboration between major Indian IT vendors and some of the start-ups so that their solutions can be offered as bundles
As the world becomes more digital, cybersecurity attacks have become more prevalent than before. The pandemic has changed the way we communicate and work increasing our reliance on mobiles, computers, and other e-devices, resulting in individuals, enterprises, and governments generating more data than usual. As per a 2020 estimate, Indian enterprises have suffered losses of more than INR 1.25 lakh crore, approximately, due to ransomware, malware, and other security breaches. This has necessitated a growing awareness of cybersecurity. The growing sophistication of cyberattacks and the intensity of cyber scams have meant that both individuals and enterprises have been pushed to take cybersecurity seriously.
India, which sees USD 150 billion in exports in the software and services sector, is observing a slew of young, hungry, innovative start-ups in the cybersecurity space which are addressing this global challenge. India’s cybersecurity services and product industry logged revenue of USD 9.85 billion in 2021 and grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 40% in the last two years, as per the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), an apex industry body. India and India-based companies have the potential to emerge as major players on the global stage due to the extensive engineering talent available in the country. In comparison, the global cybersecurity market was valued at approximately USD 150 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 12-13%. As Indian companies are growing at more than triple that rate and are constantly innovating, the country has a good chance of emerging as a global powerhouse in this space.
It must be noted that approximately 50-55% of companies in the cybersecurity ecosystem are involved in the creation of platform/IPs as a part of their innovation strategy and are collaborating with customers for co-innovation and the creation of effective solutions. In addition, the estimated employee base in the cybersecurity services space is about one hundred and ten thousand currently, and this number will scale up significantly in the near future with more than 35% of the companies re-skilling half of their security workforce.
Industry experts are of the view that if Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra could collaborate with the start-ups in the same space so that their solutions can be offered as bundles when the IT companies provide consulting and system integration services to customers globally. This would increase the cybersecurity market size and India’s tech talent would give the country a massive opportunity to emerge as a global cybersecurity hub.