Looking at the latest results from vendors in the security software space, there is some consistency in terms of growth but it is surprisingly low given the risks in this mobile and cloud age.
Symantec’s Q3 results (to December 28 2012) showed 4.4% YOY revenue growth, which is strong by its recent standards, taking revenue to $1.79bn but it appears much of the demand was for data management products rather than security. Some deals that were expected to close in Q4 were signed off in Q3 but management says the shift will not alter full year revenue expectations. Within the overall revenue figure, the storage and server management segment grew 8% to $666m, while the security and compliance division saw 3% growth to £527m (compared to 17% growth in the year ago quarter).
It would be tempting to put the low security and compliance growth down to poor execution (Symantec’s performance has been patchy - check the HotViews archive here for a digest) were it not for low growth stories elsewhere. Check Point Software Technologies, the rapidly emerging network and Internet security software pure-play, saw just 3% revenue growth for Q4 (ending December 31 2012) taking it to $368m, and 8% over the year generating revenue of $1.34bn. Even security-focussed Little British Battler Assuria who punches well above its weight, reported low activity levels during 2012 (see here).
Symantec and Check Point diverged when it came to profitability however. For Symantec, net income across the whole company dropped by 12%, to $212m. Check Point saw net income rise 9% to $174m in Q4, and a 14% increase over the full year to $620m. One of Check Point’s advantages is that it is not hampered by a bulging, disparate portfolio. It is not overly surprising that Steve Bennett (who took over as CEO of Symantec in July 2012) is revealing a newly devised strategic direction. We’ll bring the essence to HotViews readers as soon as we are able.