Armed with new hardware products, anti-virus software giant Symantec is pushing its Internet security technologies as the standard for Hong Kong's nascent managed content and network security services market.
North Asia director David Sykes said the company hoped to make the leap from being an Internet security vendor to becoming a major supplier to service providers.
'It would take one service provider contract to help us get in the door of others, since we now offer a complete line of security products for the desktop personal computer, server computers and the Internet gateway,' Mr Sykes said.
Symantec is targeting Hong Kong's small community of Internet service providers (ISPs) and application service providers (ASPs), which have only recently started to deliver more comprehensive anti-virus scanning and content filtering programmes to individual Internet users and enterprises.
Amid tightened budgets for information technology purchases, caused by the economic slowdown, competition for contracts is expected to be stiff for Symantec as it will compete with established suppliers such as Cisco Systems, NetScreen Technologies, Check Point and Nokia Internet Communications.
Another rival is MessageLabs, which resells its e-mail security programmes through both ISPs and ASPs. In Hong Kong, the British firm has strategic reseller deals with Diyixian and computer services firm COL.
