Gartner: 10 Fastest Growing Cybersecurity Consulting Companies

Exploding Cybersecurity Market

The cybersecurity market is exploding, with research firm Gartner calculating that the market grew 7.8 percent in 2016 to hit $17.8 billion. These ten companies are riding that wave of growth, with ten of the fastest growing cybersecurity consulting practices on the market today and millions – or even billions - of dollars of revenue in the space, according to Gartner. The companies on this list also show there is a broad range of businesses that can find success in security consulting, including pure-play security consultants and solution providers, vendors and traditional consulting companies. Take a look at the ten fastest growing cybersecurity consulting companies, ranked according to their growth rates, and some insights into what drove some of that growth during the past year.

10. FireEye

Coming in at the No. 10 spot is FireEye, which has a robust security consulting business from its 2014 blockbuster acquisition of Mandiant for $1 billion. In addition to risk assessment and other pre-incident response services, Mandiant has become one of the go-to companies that corporations and governments call for forensics and remediation services when they discover they have been breached. FireEye's security consulting revenue rose 15.3 percent year over year to $122 million in 2016. FireEye sales overall in 2016 were $714.1 million, up 15 percent year over year.

9. NEC

NEC landed at the No. 9 spot on Gartner's ranking of fastest growing cybersecurity consulting businesses. The company posted 15.4 percent sales growth in 2016, rising to $76 million in security consulting sales in the year. The NEC Cyber Security Solutions business includes capabilities for protecting against threats, fraud prevention, governance and control, platform security, and security consulting, according to its website. Its consulting business includes penetration testing, analysis, and general security consulting.

8. Optiv Security

Denver-based Optiv Security landed in the No. 8 spot with 15.5 percent year-over-year growth. The company reported $373 million in revenue in 2016, up from $323 million the year before. Optiv Security, formed in 2015 through the merger of Accuvant and FishNet Security, has trumpeted a vision to become the biggest stand-alone cybersecurity solution provider. Helping drive that growth was three acquisitions Optiv made during the year, including Adaptive Communications, Advancive and Evantix. The company was also ranked as No. 9 overall in Gartner's list of largest security consulting businesses. The Denver-based company held 2.1 percent security consulting market share in 2016. Since then, Optiv has been acquired by private equity firm KKR & Co., a deal that closed in February 2017.

7. BT

BT offers a broad set of cybersecurity consulting capabilities focused on enhancing visibility and reducing risk for large enterprise customers. The company's capabilities include managed security services, security consulting, security intelligence, and security solutions. The company's cybersecurity consulting practice grew rapidly year over year, with 17.5 percent growth to $240 million in 2016. The company reported $204 million in cybersecurity consulting revenue in 2015.

6. CGI

CGI offers a global network of Security Operations Centers to deliver services to customers around the world, including practices around technology, business and legal areas. The company's capabilities include security consulting, identity and access management, insider threat prevention, managed security services, cyber insurance services, security engineering, and IT security product evaluation and testing. CGI's security business was up 17.6 percent year over year, landing it at the No. 6 spot on Gartner's list of fastest growing cybersecurity consulting practices. The company reported cybersecurity consulting revenues of $96 million in 2016, up from $81 million the year before.

5. PwC

PwC is another big consulting company jumping into the cybersecurity consulting arena and seeing significant growth. Driving that, in part, was a number of acquisitions the London-based company made during the year, including that of Outbox Group and Praxism. The third largest cybersecurity consulting company overall, PwC had an overall market share in security consulting of 10.9 percent. The company raised its revenue this year by 17.8 percent to $1.95 billion, by far the largest of the companies on Gartner's list of fastest growing cybersecurity consultants.

4. Intel

Intel landed at the No. 4 spot on Gartner's list of fastest growing cybersecurity consulting companies. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company reported growth of 20 percent year over year, rising from $82 million in revenue in 2015 to $98 million in 2016. However, Intel also underwent a big change to its cybersecurity business in 2017, closing a deal to sell its Intel Security (now McAfee) division to private equity firm TPG Capital in a deal worth $4.2 billion. The deal closed in April.

3. Wipro

Wipro, one of the Indian IT consulting giants, had the third fastest growing cybersecurity consulting practice in 2016, rising 21.1 percent year over year. Wipro reported $251 million in 2016, up from $207 million in 2015. The company's cybersecurity consulting practice includes capabilities for risk assessment, designing and implementing cyber remediation programs, cyber insurance, security roadmap development, and managed security services.

2. SecureWorks

SecureWorks landed at the No. 2 spot on Gartner's list of fastest growing cybersecurity consulting companies, jumping 29.5 percent to $87 million in 2016. The company reported $67 million in revenue in 2015. SecureWorks underwent a monumental year in 2016 as it filed and launched its initial public offering. SecureWorks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dell and parent company Denali Holding sold 8 million shares, 1 million shares less than expected, to raise a total of $112 million in its IPO. The company said the funding would be put toward "working capital and other general corporate purposes." That could include growth initiatives, new solutions and other investments, the company said. SecureWorks said it doesn't plan to transfer proceeds to Dell to finance its blockbuster acquisition of EMC.

1. Leidos

Coming in at the No. 1 spot with an astronomical growth rate of 82.1 percent year over year was Leidos. The company reported cybersecurity consulting revenues of $285 million in 2016, up from $157 million the year before. Gartner said a significant portion of that growth came from the company's merger with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions business, a deal completed in August 2016.