Symantec Consolidates on the Client

| June 13, 2007 | Enterprise Security | Competitive Intelligence Report

| Analyst: Andrew Braunberg

Current Perspective: Positive
Vendor Importance: High
Market Impact: High

Event Summary

On June 13th Symantec announced a significant step in its Security 2.0 vision with the introduction of Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 and Symantec Network Access Control 11.0 (codenamed Project Hamlet). Symantec Endpoint Protection, the most significant update to Symantec’s enterprise anti-virus product in years, combines Symantec AntiVirus with advanced threat prevention in a single agent delivering defense against malware for laptops, desktops, and servers.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Symantec’s announcement of Endpoint Protection 11.0 (code named Hamlet), because the release marks a milestone in the company’s efforts to consolidate its endpoint security solutions both from an agent and a management console perspective. Symantec has also released a new version of its network access control solution that has been integrated with the new Endpoint Protection product.

• Vendor Importance: High to Symantec, because this release should help address complexity, performance, and manageability concerns associated with deploying multiple Symantec security products on the endpoint. It also consolidates technology from numerous Symantec acquisitions.

• Market Impact: High on the threat management segments of the information security market, because this release will help Symantec compete more effectively against McAfee and Microsoft, both of which have been extolling their ability to manage centrally a suite of host-based security products.

Recommended Competitor Actions

• The release of Symantec Endpoint Protection is aimed squarely at McAfee and its Total Protection product. McAfee should position its solutions as more appropriately segmented for the market. McAfee fields four flavors of Total Protection: Enterprise Advanced, Enterprise, Small Business Advanced, and Small Business.

• The inclusion of both host IPS and the scanning of network IPS signatures within Symantec Enterprise Protection should have McAfee reconsidering its decision to only offer IPS protection in the enterprise versions of Total Protection.

• Microsoft, which recently released Forefront Client Security, should continue to position that product’s differentiation chiefly as one of tight integration with Microsoft’s systems management tools. Microsoft has little chance of making a best-of-breed security argument and Forefront Client Security only offers a subset of the security functionality of Symantec Endpoint Protection. Forefront Client Security is integrated with Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007, which is a scaled-back version of System Center Operations Manager, Active Directory Group Policy, and Windows Server Update Services.

• Vendors of security point products should continue to position their products as best-of-breed and to cast integrated suites as foremost a compromise in delivering overall security.

Recommended End User / Customer Actions

• Current customers of multiple Symantec endpoint security products should be very pleased with this announcement. Symantec Endpoint Protection will offer a cheaper and simpler way to deliver a broad suite of host-based security products.

• Current customers of Symantec’s desktop AV product should keep in mind that there is little downside to migrating to this new product. For the cost of the AV product, customers can basically get the rest of this protection thrown in free and they only need to use what they want to use. Importantly, the agent footprint is actually smaller than with the traditional AV product.

• Prospects should continue to consider Symantec as a leading host-based security provider and recognize the multiple benefits that come with moving to an integrated client solution, particularly in the area of simplified management and associated cost reduction.

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