Indian companies are likely to spend less on IT security this year due to the impact of the downturn, but in 2010 their expenditure on it is expected to increase considerably, a survey by global research firm Gartner says.

According to the end-user survey on Security Spending in India by Gartner, about 30 per cent of firms surveyed expect their enterprises' IT security budget would decrease in 2009.

"To some extent Indian companies may compromise on their IT security this year, as due to the downturn over 30 per cent respondents said they are likely to cut down on their budget for the same and many of them have deferred their IT security projects for 2009," Gartner analyst Matthew Cheung told PTI.

However, the situation may be improving as one-third of respondents expect their security budget to increase in 2010 compared to 2009.

"For 2010, 36 per cent respondents said they will hike their IT security budgets compared to 2009," Cheung added.

The Indian IT security market had a size of USD 120 million in 2008.

"For 2010, we forecast growth will be much faster than this year and would be over 20 per cent," he added.

The study, which surveyed about 50 Indian firms across various sectors, found hardware and software were two biggest security spending areas for them.

Security spendings are on five key areas - hardware, software, personnel, outsourcing and consulting services.