The latest OS from Microsoft’s stable - the much talked about Windows Vista will ship at the end of this year, that is, if everything goes according to plans. With the Vista, Microsoft will also release its own security software products. So what will happen to the countless anti-spyware players in the market? The competition is already huge out there. So will the Vista render them irrelevant?



Vista will undoubtedly dent the market; it will mainly hurt the players who only focusing on providing anti-spyware security solutions. They would be the one to bleed the most with the arrival of the Vista.



So, what about the big security software solution providing companies like Symantec, McAfee or Trend?



Forrester Research analyst Natalie Lambert says;

The McAfees, Symantecs, and Trends won’t be put to bed by Microsoft, not in the enterprise. Microsoft’s security efforts will lack the functionality that [those companies’ products] have for at least 18 to 24 months. McAfee, Symantec, and Trend have more than just anti-virus and anti-spyware. That’s a huge advantage.


Another analyst Andrew Jaquith of Yankee Group showed similar sentiments. He said;
Vista will have high impact on one-trick pony [spyware] companies. It is hard to compete with free. Free and ‘good enough’ beats costly and technically elegant any day.


This means that vendors like Lavasoft and Webroot that offer only anti-spyware products space have reasons to worry about. They are the ones in trouble and not the big multi-dimensional enterprise security solution providers.



So there we see, for the Symantecs and McAfees it is something to think about but definitely not something to lose sleep.



However, is it really the case? Well, with Microsoft throwing its hat on the ring where the security software game going on, there is bound to be some visible creases on the foreheads. When Microsoft sounded its entry to the ring with a number of acquisitions in 2003, John Thompson, CEO, Symantec said that the company was ‘concerned about Microsoft playing fair in the marketplace’. Not surprising, after all, Microsoft has a reputation that precedes it.



But then, is it really all over for the Lavasofts and the Webroots? The answer typically came from Natalie Lambert who quipped,
It’s always going to be an arms race between hackers and developers. In the end it’s all about where the people are, and if people move to Vista, [hackers] will figure out a way to attack it.


There you go! It is a cat and mouse game. These one-trick ponies do have a great chance to make a comeback. They should thank the hackers and spyware programmers that gave them the reason for business and they will not let them die. At least not by Microsoft because Vista will not mean an end to hackers and as long as hackers are around, there is a great hope for the anti-spyware players.



The game goes on.



Quote references: SecurityPronews

Thanks: Dwight Brown