In brief: Firewall vendors enjoy dramatic growth

NEWS Firewall vendors saw a 143 per cent growth in revenues in 1997, according to research from IDC. The report predicts that the firewall market will hit $1.8bn (£1.1bn) by 2002, with European and Asian markets growing fastest. Even so, such impressive revenue growth may carry on for long as firewalls will eventually become incorporated into other products. Check Point Software Technologies held the number one spot with 23 per cent of the market, followed by Cisco with a 19 per cent share.