GLOBAL NEXT GENERATION FIREWALL MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2023 - 2030)

Global next generation firewall market is estimated to be valued at US$ 4,561.0 Mn in 2023, and is expected to reach US$ 8,233.2 Mn by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% from 2023 to 2030.

Next generation firewalls (NGFWs) are the latest iteration of firewalls that goes beyond basic packet filtering to integrate additional network security functions. There are two main types - hardware-based NGFWs that come as an appliance, and software-based NGFWs that are delivered as a virtual machine for deployment on industry-standard servers.

NGFWs inspect traffic content on multiple levels by using deep packet inspection, including layers 4-7. These utilize various techniques such as application awareness, intrusion prevention, sandboxing, and integration with third-party threat intelligence feeds. This allows them to filter traffic based on applications, identify and block malware downloads, and detect intrusions and zero-day threats. Many NGFWs also offer unified threat management by integrating additional functions such as web filtering, antivirus, antispam, and SSL inspection.

Global Next Generation Firewall Market- Regional Insights

• North America is expected to be the largest market for next generation firewall during the forecast period, accounting for over 40% of the market share in 2023. The growth of the market in North America is attributed to early adoption of advanced technologies, presence of leading NGFW vendors, and stringent regulations regarding data security and privacy.
• Asia Pacific is expected to be the second-largest market for next generation firewall, accounting for over 30% of the market share in 2023. The growth of the market is attributed to increasing cyber-attacks, rapid digital transformation, and high penetration of cloud computing in countries like China, Japan and India.
• Middle East & Africa is expected to be the fastest-growing market for next generation firewall, with a CAGR of 15% during the forecast period. The growth of the market in Middle East & Africa is attributed to increasing data breaches, adoption of cloud-based solutions, and investments in network security infrastructure.

Figure 1. Global Next Generation Firewall Market Share (%), By Region, 2023

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Global Next Generation Firewall Market- Drivers           

Increasing Instances of Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches: Rising cases of cyberattacks and data breaches across enterprises are major factor driving growth of the global next generation firewall market. High profile data breaches resulting in loss of sensitive consumer and enterprise data have highlighted the vulnerabilities in existing network security infrastructures. NGFWs provide advanced threat protection capabilities such as intrusion prevention, malware analysis, application control, and other to mitigate risks of attacks. Their integrated security functionalities offer superior protection as compared to traditional firewalls. Many governments worldwide have also imposed regulations around data security and privacy which is compelling businesses to adopt NGFWs. The annual report from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, the 2020 Internet Crime Report, had been published. It incorporates data from 791,790 complaints related to suspected internet crimes, marking a significant rise of over 300,000 complaints compared to 2019. These complaints also reported total losses surpassing US$ 4.2 billion.

Growth in BYOD and IoT: Growing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend across enterprises is contributing to increased adoption of next generation firewalls. NGFWs help organizations to securely enable BYOD policies by providing granular visibility and control over network traffic. Their capabilities like user identity-based access control, device profiling, and malware analysis help to address security risks associated with BYOD. The exponential growth in IoT connected devices is also creating new network security challenges which NGFWs are equipped to handle through their advanced threat detection capabilities. . This plan involves a significant investment of EUR 1 billion (equivalent to USD 1.2 billion) to bolster cybersecurity across the country, earmarking approximately EUR 350 million (around USD 400 million) specifically for fortifying the cybersecurity measures in hospitals.

Global Next Generation Firewall Market- Opportunities

• Adoption by Small and Medium Businesses: Widespread adoption of NGFWs in large enterprises is creating significant opportunities for next generation firewall vendors to target small and medium businesses (SMBs). SMBs largely rely on basic firewalls, and have limited security staff and budgets. Scaled-down, economical NGFW solutions tailored for SMBs would allow vendors to expand their target market. Simplified cloud-based or virtual NGFW deployments requiring minimal maintenance are likely to witness increasing demand among SMBs. According to the report published by Cisco, it is estimated that by 2020, approximately 78% of small businesses would have fully embraced cloud computing, signifying their adoption of at least one cloud service in their business processes.
• Integration of Advanced Capabilities: Integrating advanced capabilities like artificial intelligence, threat intelligence feeds, deception technology, sandboxing, SIEM, and more into NGFWs provides vendors potential opportunities to differentiate their offerings. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, customers will look for NGFWs that leverage automation, machine learning and other emerging technologies to provide superior detection and response. Vendors that continuously invest in integrating complementary security capabilities within their NGFW portfolio can gain competitive advantage. For instance, in July 2021, Fortinet, a leading provider of comprehensive and automated cybersecurity solutions, unveiled the FortiGate 3500F next-generation firewall (NGFW). This advanced firewall is designed to safeguard enterprises with hybrid data centers from the continuously evolving threat landscape, including the rising menace of ransomware attacks. The FortiGate 3500F stands out with top-tier performance metrics in the industry, featuring support for TLS1.3 and automated threat protection post-encryption. Employing a security-driven networking approach, it also incorporates zero-trust network access (ZTNA) capabilities, ensuring consistent security and a seamless user experience for individuals accessing the network from any location.

Global Next Generation Firewall Market- Trends

• Transition to Secure SD-WAN Environments: The adoption of SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) architecture by enterprises is a major transition that is influencing NGFW capabilities. Leading firewall vendors are integrating SD-WAN functionalities into NGFWs to support secure SD-WAN connectivity across distributed enterprise networks and remote sites. Centralized orchestration, quality of service controls, WAN optimization, dynamic path selection, and other SD-WAN features are being combined with core NGFW security for a comprehensive solution. As SD-WAN gains traction, the demand for integrated secure SD-WAN platforms increases.
• Cloud-Delivered and As-a-Service Models: The growing trend towards consumption-based business models is also prevalent in the NGFW market with vendors offering cloud-hosted, virtual and firewall-as-a-service solutions. Cloud-based management of NGFW capabilities provides customers with operational flexibility and hassle-free maintenance. Managed security service providers (MSSPs) are leveraging NGFW vendor platforms to deliver managed firewall services on demand. As-a-service models are key for distributed enterprises seeking to implement robust network security across on-premise and cloud environments.

Global Next Generation Firewall Market- Restraints

Advancement in AI and machine learning technologies: AI and machine learning allow security solutions to analyze huge amounts of data in real-time and detect even unknown threats and anomalies without relying on predefined rules and signatures. These can learn from past security incidents and threats and continuously improve their capabilities. This self-learning ability of AI makes security solutions more predictive and pre-emptive in detecting new and sophisticated cyber attacks. Traditional next generation firewalls, in comparison, work primarily based on pre-defined rules and patterns which limits their effectiveness against new unknown threats.

Furthermore, AI security solutions are capable of automated threat hunting across enterprise networks to proactively detect any malicious activities. These can autonomously analyze logs, traffic patterns and behaviors to pinpoint anomalies indicating potential security issues. This level of automation and continuous learning provided by AI significantly enhances the threat detection and response capabilities of organizations. Next generation firewalls require considerable manual efforts from security experts to analyze logs and threat patterns.

Counterbalance: AI and machine learning can enhance cybersecurity measures. These can identify patterns and detect anomalies that indicate potential threats, helping to prevent data breaches AI and machine learning can fill the gap created by a lack of skilled personnel in various sectors. For example, in healthcare, AI can assist in diagnosing diseases, reducing the burden on healthcare professionals.

Analyst Viewpoint: The global next generation firewall market continues to evolve rapidly driven by the growing security needs of enterprises. With the rise in sophisticated cyber attacks and adoption of cloud and mobility solutions, the traditional firewalls are unable to provide effective protection. This has increased the demand for next generation firewalls amongst organizations across all industries and regions. North America currently dominates the market however Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth in adoption of next generation firewall solutions over the next five years.

One of the key drivers for next generation firewall adoption is the growing BYOD and work from home trend which has made the edge points vulnerable. Next generation firewalls with advanced threat detection capabilities provide multi-layered security for hybrid network environments. However, budget constraints continue to restrain faster spending on network security upgrades for some small and medium enterprises globally. Nevertheless, increasing cyber security expenditure is opening up opportunities for next generation firewall vendors to enhance their offerings with AI/ML powered threat prevention features.

Global Next Generation Firewall Market- Recent Developments

• In October 2022, Clavister, a European cybersecurity company specializing in mission-critical applications, announced the renewal of its longstanding partnership with Nokia. This collaboration aims to meet the increasing demand for 5G security. As part of this renewed agreement, NetShield, a solution by Clavister, will be integrated into Nokia Managed Firewall Services (MFS) and Nokia Managed Security Services (MSS). The collaboration leverages Clavister's advanced telco-grade capabilities in technology management, coupled with a service model focused on the firewall, providing a comprehensive, service-oriented solution for Nokia's customers.
• In June 2020, Check Point launched Quantum Spark, an advanced AI-based threat prevention engine to detect known and unknown malware with high accuracy
• In August 2022, Hillstone Networks, a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions known for their innovation and accessibility, unveiled two new additions to its A-Series next-generation firewalls (NGFWs). These latest models, the A7600 and A6800, are specifically designed to aid enterprises in fortifying their expanding network edges. Delivering robust network security capabilities, these solutions are packaged in a compact 1RU form factor, emphasizing both power and sustainability.

Key Strategic Initiative:

In November 2022, Fortinet introduced its FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (CNF) specifically designed for Amazon Web Services (AWS). This novel cybersecurity solution, available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS), caters to businesses utilizing AWS and in need of enterprise-grade next-generation firewall (NGFW) functionalities compatible with cloud-native environments. FortiGate CNF incorporates FortiGuard AI-driven security services, providing real-time detection and protection against both external and internal threats. Fueled by FortiOS, it ensures a consistent network security experience across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and on-premises environments.

In August 2022, Palo Alto Networks announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to unveil the Palo Alto Networks Cloud NGFW for AWS. This managed next-generation firewall (NGFW) service is meticulously crafted to simplify the process of securing AWS deployments, enabling organizations to expedite their innovation initiatives while ensuring robust security. Exclusively available on AWS, Cloud NGFW for AWS swiftly incorporates Palo Alto Networks' renowned security features into organizations' cloud installations. Recognizing the preference of customers to focus on application development and business operations rather than managing cloud network security infrastructure, Cloud NGFW for AWS transfers operational responsibilities, including deployment, maintenance, availability, and scalability, to Palo Alto Networks.

Figure 2. Global Next Generation Firewall Market Share (%), By Deployment, 2023

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Top companies in Global Next Generation Firewall Market

• Cisco Systems
• Juniper Networks
• Fortinet
• Palo Alto Networks
• Barracuda Networks
• Forcepoint
• Zscaler
• Watchguard Technologies
• Sophos
• Check Point Software Technologies
• Hillstone Networks
• Huawei Technologies
• Untangle
• Stormshield
• SonicWall
• NetGate
• Smoothwall
• Sangfor Technologies
• Microsoft
• VMware

Definition: The global next generation firewall market refers to the industry surrounding advanced network security firewall appliances and services that provide integrated and cutting-edge functionalities beyond traditional stateful firewalls. Next generation firewalls combine capabilities like deep packet inspection, integrated intrusion prevention, application control, SSL/SSH inspection, website filtering, quality of service, and antivirus/antispyware to offer superior threat protection for modern networks and data centers.