The event, which attracted a record 13,000 visitors, also was a testament to how hot the security market is.
As for me, I got a chance to walk the floor, meet top security companies and listen to a number of keynote speeches. I heard a lot of hyperbole and security dogma. Some vendors surprised me with their clarity of vision, while I was baffled by the hype and confusing messages of others.
Based on these conversations, I've taken the time to grade the vendors, based on my own subjective criteria.
A : Symantec. Wall Street still may not get the Veritas Software deal, but CEO John Thompson showed that he is a leader with chutzpah. He not only stood up to endless questions about the new Microsoft security offerings, he also described an integrated "risk management" vision where Symantec products and services work in concert to protect critical assets.
Symantec's booth also offered a potpourri products, demonstrating that it's more than just antivirus company.
B : Check Point Software Technologies. The firewall king has a fantastic product lineup, offering full integration into its Smart management tools. Nevertheless, Check Point seems to be at a crossroads. It needs to outgrow its "firewall-only" roots, sell security solutions and take the business to the next level. Large customers I spoke to haven't seen this happen yet.
John Chambers' keynote address reminded me of Khrushchev's "we will bury you" speech at the United Nations.
B : RSA Security. You've got to hand it to Art Coviello's gang. The conference is still a marketing bonanza for RSA, a relatively small US$307 million company. This year's focus on identity and access management also helped boost RSA's position. But Wall Street remains unconvinced. The money guys believe the company relies too much on revenue from low-cost security tokens -- a commodity market. RSA says that its tokens are a key part of security solutions that offer customers higher ROI than competitors do.
Maybe, but stock market types say this sounds a lot like the rationale Digital used to offer about its money-losing PC business. Adding fuel to the fire, RSA decided to abandon its historical practice of publishing token sales and average selling prices on a quarterly basis. RSA's logic makes sense to me -- but it's never good when investors are scratching their heads.
B : Microsoft. Forget Bill's two-hour Windows commercial for a second. Microsoft's giving away anti-spyware? Minimal impact on Symantec and McAfee franchises, but I'd hate to be Webroot.
If you peel back the emotion, you also see that Microsoft really "gets it." The biggest threat to the industry is Microsoft's plan to integrate security with operations and administration tools -- a powerful combination. Bill's company would get an "A" grade, except for one huge obstacle: Security people view Microsoft as a natural enemy. Changing this situation is bound to take a while.
Continued ...
3%
2%
