IT companies focus on cyber security solutions

MUMBAI | DELHI: Indian IT companies are increasing their focus on cyber-security as they see demand rising for security solutions amid growing commerce on the internet. According to consultancy firm PwC, $4-5 billion worth of security services are being outsourced currently, a market that Indian IT companies are looking to capture.

The cyber-security business is typically split into consulting, software solutions, implementation, and operations & maintenance. While consulting is driven by big firms and software by foreign companies, the last two aspects of cyber-security offer a big opportunity for Indian players. "Implementation is something that is getting outsourced as well and there you have Indian companies playing," Sivarama Krishnan, executive director at PwC, told ET. "Then you have operations & maintenance. That is the leg on which we see a lot of things come into the Indian companies. It is a big business for most of the IT companies."

Indian companies are also looking to beef up their security verticals in view of the rising demand.

"We are investing a lot in security. Cyber-security is going to be very important and we are already placing a big bet," N Chandrasekaran, chief executive at Tata Consultancy Services, India’s biggest IT company, told ET in a recent interview. TCS has over 3,000 certified security personnel.