NTT announced that Gartner Inc., an IT research and advisory firm, has placed NTT in the “Challengers” quadrant of the 2015 Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services, Worldwide. 
 
NTT and its operating companies offer a wide range of managed security services (MSS) to large and mid-sized enterprises. The company has been expanding its capabilities, solutions and global reach in managed security services through a series of strategic acquisitions, consolidations and internal development in recent years, according to an NTT press release. 
 
Gartner defines managed security services as “the remote monitoring or management of IT security functions delivered via shared services from remote security operations centers, not through personnel on-site.” According to Gartner, “This Magic Quadrant evaluates services for monitored/managed firewall and intrusion detection and prevention functions, as well as log analysis and reporting services. These functions make up the core of MSS procurements.” 
 
Gartner views MSS as a mature, growing market and identifies several factors that are driving MSS market growth. According to Gartner, enterprise demand for MSSs is driven by security staffing and budget priorities, increased emphasis on monitoring and breach detection, and evolving compliance reporting requirements.  
 
NTT recently announced its intention to acquire 100 percent ownership of NTT Com Security as part of its plan to bring together the combined power of the security platforms of NTT Com Security, Solutionary, Dimension Data and NTT Innovation Institute to enhance the global MSS. 
 
“NTT’s strategic intent through 2015 and moving forward is to continue to develop and provide world class security services to protect our clients in constantly changing threat landscapes,” said Tsunehisa Okuno, director and senior vice president, director of global business office, NTT.  “NTT’s clients will benefit greatly from the combined power of the security platform of NTT Com Security, Solutionary, Dimension Data and NTT Innovation Institute that will provide an even more holistic and powerful global security offering.” 
 
Gartner Magic Quadrant authors Kelly Kavanagh, principal research analyst, and Toby Bussa, research director, said, "Threat management and meeting compliance requirements via 24/7 security monitoring remain the primary drivers for considering an MSS. These may be complemented by related drivers, such as the access to deeper or broader security expertise than is available in-house, or the need to redirect existing internal resources to other security areas.”  
 
Additionally, Kavanagh and Bussa said, “In 2014, the global market for security outsourcing was $13.8 billion, with a forecast compound annual growth rate of 15.4 percent through 2019.”