3/25/2008 -- It's a great time to be in the network security appliance business. According to market watcher Infonetics Research, network security appliance and software sales grew by a whopping 20 percent last year, exceeding $5 billion.

Cisco continues to lead the network security pack, Infonetics said. Runners-up include Juniper Networks and Check Point.

"2007 was a strong year across the board for the network security market, with nearly all segments contributing to the strong growth," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst for network security at Infonetics Research, in a statement. "Secure routers and SSL VPN gateways did particularly well in 2007 and we expect them to continue selling well at least through 2011."

The year was highlighted by strong quarter-over-quarter growth in many cases. In Q4, for example, network security appliance and software sales increased by 4 percent over the year-ago period.

Elsewhere, worldwide secure router sales jumped by 39 percent from 2006 to 2007, while sales of integrated appliances and software accounted for 85 percent of all network security revenues in the fourth quarter of last year. Sales of IDS and IPS systems accounted for 15 percent.

For the quarter, North America generated 45 percent of all network security appliance and software sales, followed by Europe (with 30 percent) and Asia-Pacific with 20 percent. --Stephen Swoyer