Symantec eyes mobile security
Leading anti-virus vendor offers 'small form factor' solution
The world's largest mobile-phone markets, led by the mainland and India, will help spur the adoption of wireless handset security solutions, as threats against businesses and consumer users continue to evolve, according to Symantec chairman and chief executive John Thompson.
Symantec would 'move aggressively and consolidate several security technologies - from firewall and anti-virus to content filter and encryption - into a small form factor' like a mobile phone, he said.
Symantec, the leading worldwide vendor of anti-virus software, will launch next month its Mobile Security Suite 5.0, designed to provide users of Windows Mobile-based smartphones and personal digital assistants with the same security and data protection that are standard for laptops and other computing devices.
While malicious software targeting mobile devices is a relatively recent problem, significant growth in shipments of smartphones and increasing market penetration by Microsoft have made mobile devices much more attractive targets for hackers, New York-based intelligence service ABI Research says.
'There have been close to 30 different types of attacks on mobile devices within the past two years,' said ABI Research vice-president Stan Schatt. He said the latest and most intriguing market opportunity for mobile security was delivery of mobile device security managed services.
Symantec's latest product, which will make its debut in North America, will include anti-virus, firewall, anti-spam for short messaging services, and data encryption technologies that are easy to deploy, manage and maintain. This layered security system is more advanced than Symantec's previous offering, Mobile AntiVirus 4.0 for Windows Mobile.
The market opportunity could be vast. The smartphone segment is entering a new era of lower-cost, higher-volume devices, according to research firm International Data Corp, which estimated that sales of smartphones would exceed one billion units by 2011.
Macquarie Research forecasts global handset shipment volumes this year will reach 1.13 billion units, 15 per cent higher year on year. The mainland's mobile phone user base leads the world at about 450 million.
Mr Thompson said investing in a comprehensive mobile security product was an imperative for Symantec to maintain its market leadership.
'Whether or not the product will produce a lot of revenue this quarter or next is not important to us,' he said. 'What is important is that customers will know we will protect them whether they use their personal computers or their mobile phones. This is what market leaders do. '
He said working with phone manufacturers was key, which has led the company to invest in a centre of competency in northern Europe. An Asian counterpart will be set up in another big mobile-phone manufacturing base in the region.
'The global workforce is becoming increasingly mobile - using a wide range of mobile devices to access personal applications and corporate data over insecure public Wi-fi and home networks,' said Sandra Palumbo, a senior analyst at research firm Yankee Group.
'The IT departments tasked with managing and protecting these devices are having a tough time wading through the wide spectrum of individual security products to determine what is needed. The vendor that can unify these technologies, ensure they inter-operate and provide a high level of support and manageability will likely find a significant market with corporate IT buyers.'
Mr Schatt forecast the mobile device security managed services market would increase in size from about US$100 million last year to more than US$500 million in 2011.
