Back in 2007, Microsoft shook the security world when it entered the endpoint security market with what was then called Forefront Client Security (now Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection). Forefront was positioned as the endpoint security market for the commercial market while its sister product, OneCare, was aimed at the consumer market. This created a market fire storm, especially at companies like McAfee, Symantec, and Trend Micro that depended on PC security for the bulk of their 2007 revenue. The industry wondered, "would these powerful security companies get Netscaped?
Microsoft was pretty bullish about its announcement. When Forefront was announced, Bob Muglia, who was VP of Microsoft's server and tools business stated, "we think that this product will provide a level of integration and simplicity that really differentiates it, and really enables a different kind of solution." Microsoft wasn't alone in its expectations. Here at ESG, we had just done some market research revealing that: 1) Most security professionals looked at endpoint as a commodity product, and 2) They were already evaluating Forefront or were willing to do so. In other words, the market was open to Microsoft -- all it had to do was execute and beat the competition on price.
No comments:
Post a Comment