|
In recent times, the anti-virus market in India has opened up and global
players are now eying the Indian market, especially the retail, SOHO and SMB
segments as they offer huge opportunities for penetration. While the vendors
such as ACI Infocom, Unistal, ESET and AVG have already entered the Indian
market with a host of new products, others are preparing to enter the rat race.
Sources within the industry say that Kingsoft (China) is another vendor that is
watching the Indian anti-virus industry closely and evaluating its options here,
while Panda from Spain has plans to re-enter the country.
While vendor competition becomes tougher, customers are rejoicing as this has
given rise to genuine anti-virus products becoming increasingly affordable.
Channel partners are watching this space closely as it is proving to be a
lucrative business area.
Market Size
According to a recent Gartner prediction, the Asia-Pacific security market
is growing at an average of 28%, even as the worldwide market for anti-virus
solutions at large is growing at 12%.
The anti-virus industry is growing extensively and the market opportunity in
the SOHO and retail segment alone is $40 mn (nearly Rs 200 crore). The SMB
enterprises again are looking beyond end-point security and they want a total
solution, ranging from email security, gateway-level specialized security, and
spam control, among others, says Anil Gupta, head, national sales, Microworld.
Competition Toughens
The advent of a host of anti-virus and Internet security vendors has opened
up the market for customers in the retail, SOHO and SMB domain. Many of these
vendors have introduced anti-virus at a price range of Rs 300-400, thereby
giving customers the option of buying genuine software at an affordable price.
MH Noble, MD, Zoom Technologies, distributors of Kaspersky range of solutions
in India says, Anti-virus only sells when the product cures and removes virus
and does not slow down the computer/system. No small, local or foreign player
can threaten the business of an established player, as it requires a big team
carrying out research in several different regions and analyzing the samples in
all regions of the world for the product to be effective. However, the product
has to be affordable.
Peter Baxter, VP, business development, AVG Technologies explains, No
company is secure and competition-proof in todays age, especially with so many
anti-virus software solution providers (SPs) entering the Indian market.
However, regardless of the technological superiority of any company, without
adequate support one can quickly lose customers. Pricing, coupled with
consistency and value for money, plays an important role when it comes to
grabbing the market share. While many brands decide on a low-entry point and
increase price over time. We believe that the Indian consumer is now savvy to
this and looks for consistency and support as opposed to short-term pricing
reductions.
|
|
The SMB enterprises again are looking beyond end-point
security. They want a total solution, ranging from email security,
gateway-level specialized security, and spam control, among others
Anil Gupta, head, national sales, Microworld |
Big Players Under Threat?
The established players and the ones who have been around in the market for
decades, however, are of the opinion that competition only toughens them up.
These vendors are of the view that having several options will give customers an
ability to get more discerning and enable differentiation between anti-viruses
that can give them just protection and the ones that can provide them greater
protection.
Sharing his views on rising competition, Jaganath Patnaik, VP, sales and
marketing, Quickheal points out, Pricing has never played that important a role
as far as anti-virus solutions are concerned as one needs to offer value for
money to the customers.
Pointing out that anti-virus as a product is very similar to an operating
system software (like a user, who needs only one operating system to run the
machine needs only one anti-virus solutions to fight viruses), Karthik Shahney,
regional director, Mcafee states, When it comes to buying an anti-virus
solution, price does play a deciding role for the customer but he also seeks
quality. Anti-virus, as a software, is getting commoditized and the new
entrants are lowering prices to penetrate the market further. However, security
market is not only about anti-virus. The customer needs to bear in mind whether
he needs simple protection or great protection, and in case of latter, only that
vendor who can provide 24x7 support and has an effective R&D in place can meet
the requirements.
Echoing similar sentiments, Amit Nath, country manager, India & SAARC, Trend
Micro shares, Vendors who understand the anti-virus market are going to remain
unaffected by the fact that competition is on the rise. Throwing rock bottom
prices at the market will not really help the new entrants grow as vendors. One
needs to have a road map of three/four years, visualize the growth of the
industry and have a strong R&D set-up in place. Nath further mentions that
price vs value phenomenon will not work for too long.
Conclusion
Buying an anti-virus is more or less like purchasing a mobile phone. There
are numerous options available and one needs to keep the desired features and
price of the product in mind, before selecting the best possible option. With
the influx of a host of anti-virus vendors, customers will be in a better
position to discern the quality of the product which will happen only when they
have experienced the product. Hence, the vendor who develops closeness with the
channel partner community and offers good quality product, backed by effective
R&D set-up, will continue to survive and grow in the market.
Puja Sharma/DQ Channels
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in Page(s) 1
| 
Print
Comment
Email
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Twitter
