Use of some cloud-based security services could more than triple in the next five years, as the delivery model edges towards widespread acceptance, according to analyst Gartner.

A new report released today by the firm, Cloud-Based Computing Will Enable New Security Services and Endanger Old Ones, predicted that while 20 per cent of the revenue of messaging security tools currently comes from the software-as-a-service model, this will grow to 60 per cent by 2013.

It also argued that the increasing popularity of on-demand enterprise applications such as those provided by Salesforce.com will force security teams to put controls between mobile workers and these cloud based services.

Firms should look at security as a service as a delivery option where it enables them to perform existing security processes more efficiently (less staffing, lower cost) or more effectively," argued Gartner analyst John Pescatore.

However he added that some security areas, "such as where very sensitive internal data and applications require security" will not fit this model

Tim Best, director of enterprise security solutions at consultancy Logica, argued that firms can make their money go further with "security-as-a-service".

"However before such a decision is made, a security risk assessment should always be conducted," he cautioned. "Always check the supplier's credentials and where the service is operated from, and check what external assessment the supplier has been subject to."