Makers of computer security software are enjoying a healthy demand for their products and service. Revenue for these companys grew last year despite the global recession.

Worldwide security software revenue totaled $17.7 billion in 2011, a 7.5 percent increase from 2010 revenue of $16.4 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. Small or midsize business (SMB) demand, advanced persistent threats and compliance were among the main drivers.

“Growth in the 2011 security market reflects a continuation in demand for consumer and enterprise security tools,” said Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner.

“However, despite overall solid growth, some regions did not experience the high-double-digit growth of emerging Asia/Pacific and Eurasia, which has been driven by ‘greenfield’ projects and buoyant economies. Western Europe remained the laggard because of the region’s uncertain economic situation.”

The security software market continued to show resilience at a time of IT budget restrictions and despite Intel writing down considerable revenue following its McAfee acquisition, which prevented the market from reaching double-digit growth

Tags: Gartner, market, security, Software