Solidcore FIM with EPO is in the works…

I heard from couple of customers that they heard from our competitors that non-security products from Solidcore will not be supported by MFE going forward. This is completely UNTRUE.

We are busy integrating our FIM (file integrity monitoring) into EPO. This will be a 100% integration and will make it very easy for all MFE customers to use FIM with EPO to meet their compliance requirements.

We will release a technology preview of this capability soon for all to see and play with. In addition to real-time FIM that solidcore offered earlier, now you will have the power of EPO and integration with other reporting and search to give you a one-stop compliance, risk and security dashboard.

If you would like an early release feel free to contact me.

Symantec versus McAfee

Great Article

http://harbor.typepad.com/analysis/2009/07/symantec-vs-mcafee.html
Symantec (SYMC) and McAfee (MFE) are software companies known best by consumers for their antivirus packages.  Symantec is the market leader in almost every segment it operates in, whereas McAfee is generally number two.  Partly due to recent strong revenue growth and partly due to an aggressive marketing strategy to get its software installed on computers by the original equipment manufacturer, McAfee shares are trading at about twice the earnings multiple of Symantec.  Given that Symantec has historically outperformed McAfee, McAfee’s strategy is risky, and the current valuation implies that McAfee will outperform even beyond the horizon visible to analysts, I see an interesting long/short opportunity.

Overview of Thesis

SYMC and MFE are nearly identical companies with the primary difference being that Symantec is larger and involved in data storage, management, and backup.  The key short-term strategic difference is in growth strategy. A few years ago, SYMC seemingly choked on the acquisition of Veritas, a large data storage and management company, but they have since been able to integrate Veritas into a coherent Symantec.  During this integration process, McAfee has been able to gain market share by bundling software into easily used suites for consumers and small businesses, a trend SYMC missed in 2006.  MFE is now attempting to steal market share from SYMC by entering into agreements to have a free-trial of MFE software pre-installed on PCs.  While management and many analysts are optimistic that this will produce strong results, the long-term benefits are limited.  The average user that pays for antivirus software after a free-trial period remains a customer for approximately three years.  If SYMC decides they are loosing valuable market share to MFE’s OEM strategy, they can simply compete by offering OEM’s an equal or better deal than that offered by MFE.  Oligopolies naturally form for a reason, and number two players generally don’t have much success waging turf wars against the number one players by spending more money on distribution.  MFE doesn’t have any sort of a long-term competitive advantage with the OEM strategy.  However, SYMC has an established data storage and management business that offers something unique to customers and will take a while for competitors such as MFE to duplicate.

Analysts’ forecasts for revenue growth from 2008 to 2010, according to Bloomberg, are 29% for MFE (65% earnings growth), and 4% for SYMC (22% earnings growth). This leaves MFE trading at 23x 2010 earnings, compared to 14x 2010 earnings for SYMC, indicating that either McAfee will outperform well beyond the horizon visible to analysts or they will grow earnings by more than 65% over the next two years and maintain it.

To read more: http://harbor.typepad.com/analysis/2009/07/symantec-vs-mcafee.html