Despite assertions that security threats do not know when a recession happens, spending on security technologies took a hit this year. According to a new report by Infonetics, spending on security hardware and appliances took a 16 percent nosedive in the first quarter, mirroring the rest of the market.

"Many IT markets hit bottom in the first quarter of 2009, and the network security market felt the pinch, hitting its lowest level since early 2007. The cuts were due mainly to budgeting delays, a decrease in security spending attached to network infrastructure spending, contraction in overall enterprise spending due to the recession, and slightly cautious carrier spending," said Jeff Wilson, Infonetics Research's principal analyst for network security.

No real surprise here. Many security solution providers say they’ve seen shifts in customer spending as a result of the recession. IT projects have been delayed or canceled as companies try to conserve cash. Reprioritization of IT spending has caused delays on investments in revenue-generating systems until the market recovers. While the number of threats continues to grow unabated, the need for new security hardware and appliances parallels investments in other infrastructure.

During the recession, end users reported shifting their strategy to doing more with less and maximizing the potential return on previous IT investments. While solution providers saw a drop in security product sales, many reported seeing spikes in professional services and security assessment business.

Infonetics' report isn’t entirely bad news. The research group anticipates spending to rebound before the end of the year, with the first signs of recovery coming from SMBs. Their logic: SMBs can implement budgets faster than enterprises, and will likely have a greater need for unified threat management (UTM) and SSL VPN appliances as the economy continues to gain its health.

“By the end of 2009, we expect the network security market to be back at roughly third quarter of 2008 levels. All in all, this was a painful but fairly minor hiccup, not a massive correction,” Wilson says in the report.