Webroot: Enhancing Security for Small Businesses

Anyone that has run a small business is only too aware of the
stress of trying to generate sales and supply products to
customers. The last thing they need to be worrying about is IT
security—but is it?

Unfortunately, securing their IT infrastructure must now figure
up there with securing their building as a major priority. Just as
insurance companies take a dim view of burglaries through unlocked
doors, financial institutions are starting to take a dim view of
online losses due to insecure IT systems.

IT security product vendors are also waking up to the fact they
need to increase their offerings to this market as well.

Webroot Software, known for their anti-spyware product, have
decided to team up with Sophos to offer a more comprehensive
solution for small and medium sized businesses. The combined
product, called Webroot SME Security, uses the Sophos anti-virus
product to complement the Webroot anti-spyware product.

This shows a maturing of the market as vendors realise they are
better off teaming up and working together rather than spend money
developing another “me too” solution with little to
differentiate it from other products. It is also good to see
vendors waking up to the small and medium sized business market,
which has traditionally been seen as either too difficult to access
or ably supplied by the big boys and their AV tools.

The reality is that small and medium sized businesses are crying
out for easy to purchase, install and manage security products that
offer them the same level of protection as big corporates—and
why not?

Vendors need to be focussing on this market by producing
products that are easy to install—preferably from a web site,
with meaningful management tools. If based on a subscription model,
vendors will also see a useful and predictable revenue stream in
support of this investment.

Will Webroot be successful? Probably. After all, Sophos is a
well respected player in the security market and the number of
small and medium sized businesses looking for more comprehensive IT
security products is huge.

The fact that Webroot is bright enough to recognise the
opportunity now is a credit to them.