Indian cybersecurity industry logged $9.85 bn as revenue in 2021: Study

Industry was 'at the forefront' in supporting government, says senior civil servant.

The Indian cybersecurity industry has witnessed significant growth in the last two years, with the services and product industry’s combined revenue jumping to $9.85 billion in 2021. The industry grew at a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40 per cent in the last two years, as per a study conducted by Data Security Council of India (DSCI).

The study titled India Cybersecurity Industry Report - Services and Product Growth Story pegged the cybersecurity services revenue at $8.48 billion in 2021, a CAGR of 40.33 per cent from $4.3 billion in 2019. The product industry grew from $740 million in 2019 at a CAGR of 36.49 per cent to $1.37 billion in 2021.

Ajay Sawhney, the secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said, “India's Cyber Security Industry was at the forefront supporting (the) government and all critical sectors to manage the heightened cyber security risk in the last two years through the pandemic. The report showcases the capabilities of the Indian cybersecurity Services and Startups and the continuous innovation in products and services to serve customers in India and globally”.

He said, “The Ministry of Electronics & IT is committed to partnering with DSCI to scale up our innovation in emerging areas like 5G, Hardware, IoT Security, and through our flagship ISEA and Future Skills Programmes (to) meet the talent demand of the industry.”

According to the report, the industry was moving toward a platform-based approach to offer holistic solutions and simplify security integration and deployment. About 78 per cent and 76 per cent of the analysed services and product companies, respectively, offer platform-based services and products, wherein 74 per cent leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance their offerings.

This surge in demand for cybersecurity services and products is also reflected in the widening of the cybersecurity talent pool, which touched 218,000 in 2021 from 110,000 in 2019. Similarly, talent for security professionals from product companies touched 27,000 workforce in 2021 from 15,000 in 2019.

"Every crisis has a silver lining and for the pandemic, it has been the accelerated adoption of digital solutions across enterprises and government. Cybersecurity is now a boardroom agenda and offers tremendous opportunities for India’s tech industry to build innovative solutions and services," said Debjani Ghosh, the president of NASSCOM.

The Indian cybersecurity industry is constantly expanding its global footprint, with a presence in the US, Canada, the UK, France, Australia, Singapore, and the UAE. The cybersecurity startups are reinventing themselves with new digital marketing channels and sales process automation strategies. They have also substantially grown their funding portfolio to $779 million cumulatively till 2021.