Facing a constantly evolving cyber threat environment, hospitals are adopting new approaches to cybersecurity and this offers both challenges and opportunities for the cybersecurity solution vendors, including both established players and new vendors, according to a new report from analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.
In its analysis of the U.S. hospital cybersecurity market, Frost & Sullivan projects that the total market for cybersecurity solutions deployed by U.S. hospitals will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.6 percent between 2016 and 2021.
Noting that hospitals face heightened concerns due to ubiquitous cyber-attacks that threaten the privacy and security of their data assets and enterprise IT systems, the Frost & Sullivan report also highlights that these new cybersecurity threats will likely result in increased scrutiny by federal and state regulatory bodies.
“The potential of new regulatory oversight is just one of the factors driving hospitals to spend more time, effort and money to combat the costly and potentially dangerous data breaches and cyber-attacks that are proliferating across the healthcare industry,” the report authors stated in a press release.
“We see here the core issues to understand when considering the trajectory of the hospital cybersecurity market and key competitive dynamics needed to succeed,” Frost & Sullivan principal Connected Health analyst Nancy Fabozzi said in a prepared statement. “Because of the increased risk of cyber-attacks of every type, especially phishing and ransomware, hospitals are transitioning from their traditional reactive and fragmented approach to protecting privacy and security that is highly dependent on HIPAA compliance to a new approach and mindset that is proactive, holistic, and coordinated, anchored by integrated solutions designed to protect multiple endpoints.”
Increased cyber-attacks targeting hospitals, new regulations, shortages of trained IT security staff, and a constantly evolving threat environment creates numerous business opportunities for new and existing technology vendors alike.
In its analysis, Frost & Sullivan asserts that a variety of new vendors are flooding the healthcare cybersecurity market due to a range of attractive growth opportunities emerging from unmet needs.
The flood of new startups in the cybersecurity space has been a cause of concern for some in the industry. As previously reported by Healthcare Informatics, a recent report from cybersecurity think tank Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology found that chief information security officers are faced with information overload and vendor solution fatigue.
The Frost & Sullivan report points out that cybersecurity solutions vendors face a highly dynamic environment that presents both challenges and opportunities.
“While many hospitals’ buyers are only beginning to engage in the field today, they will change their culture around IT security and gain in sophistication. Soon, vendors will face closer scrutiny and tougher selling environments,” the report authors stated.
And, the report authors contend that, given the threat landscape facing healthcare organizations, all health IT vendors serving the hospital market need to develop technology with security baked into IT systems.
“Going forward, all health IT vendors serving the hospital market—and not just vendors of IT security solutions but application vendors as well—must recognize that the increased threat environment demands strong, baked-in security features,” Fabozzi said. “To ensure this capability, vendors need to innovate to survive, building or buying advanced functionality and next generation capabilities as the market moves from protecting the walled garden to protecting a vast connected perimeter.“
