Microsoft's security ambitions do not stop with the consumer. The company also has an eye on the multibillion-dollar enterprise security market.
Now that it is launched the Windows Live OneCare security service for consumers, Microsoft is ramping up its efforts to convince businesses that it is the solution to, not the source of, their security woes. The Redmond, Wash., company last week unveiled Forefront, a single brand that encompasses updated and upcoming security products aimed at businesses.
The moves are part of Microsoft's attempt to expand its business and tap new revenue sources, analysts said. Last year, security software sales hit US$12 billion, according to research firm IDC. On the enterprise side, Yankee Group expects the Windows client security software market to grow to US$3.6 billion this year.
"They are in it for the money, of course," said Andrew Jaquith, an analyst at Yankee Group. "Microsoft initially was very mysterious about its security plans. But its steady drumbeat of announcements over the last months shows intent to be a very broad enterprise security player."
Under the Forefront plan, the brand-new Microsoft Client Protection product, now in development, will be sold as Forefront Client Security for PCs and servers. In addition, updates of Antigen for Exchange and Antigen for SharePoint will also carry the Forefront tag, Microsoft said. Antigen for Instant Messaging and the ISA Server firewall and Web caching software are also in the Forefront group.
"We're going to provide a comprehensive set of security technologies for businesses that is integrated with their existing infrastructure, with an emphasis on the deployment, management and ongoing usability," said Steve Brown, the director of product management in the security, access and solutions division at Microsoft.
As far as motivation goes, Microsoft sees its entry into the security fray as a "very broad opportunity" for itself and for its customers, Brown said. "The primary reason we're doing this is that there is clearly a customer need for this approach," he said.
Companies such as McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro and Computer Associates have long demonstrated that there's money to be made in protecting Windows systems. For Microsoft, it's simpler to create security add-ons than to build security into its products, an approach that would also make it harder for the company to make extra money, at least one analyst said.
"This is a rather safe play," said Charles Kolodgy, an analyst at IDC. "It is easier than building the security into products and not being able to directly capture revenue. And if their security product line doesn't work, they can leave the market."
Microsoft has gradually built up its security muscle in recent years through numerous acquisitions. It bought antivirus specialist GeCAD, anti-spyware maker Giant Company Software and Sybari Software, maker of the Antigen products. Its lineup also includes hosted e-mail security services, picked up through the takeover of FrontBridge Technologies.
Most recently, the company gobbled up Whale Communications, a specialist in secure remote access and Web application firewalls. Last October, it announced it would sell security software for business PCs and servers. The new product, now called Forefront Client Security, is due for release in the second quarter of next year.
In catch-up mode
While it's bound to attract some business for its
new products right away, Microsoft has some work to do to become a formidable
competitor in the security area. That's especially true when it comes to
enterprise client security, analysts said.
"They will get some market share just for being Microsoft," Burton Group analyst Dan Blum said. "To take a majority position, they need to establish a product that is functionally on
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