---
Email this article   Print article 

COMDEXvirtual: Symantec's Salem Emphasizes 'People And Information'

By Stefanie Hoffman, CRN
November 16, 2010    12:00 PM ET

Page 1 of 2

If there's one message that Symantec CEO Enrique Salem wants to get across, it is that fundamental data-centric industry trends will give solution providers more services and solutions opportunities.

Salem outlined Symantec's corporate vision, which includes a more data-centric strategy, during a keynote address Tuesday at COMDEXvirtual, the online conference hosted by CRN parent company Everything Channel. The show takes place November 16 - 17, and sessions are available on-demand until May 17, 2011.

Symantec's strategy will allow partners to take advantage key IT "mega-trends," such as the consumerization of IT, the IT-ization of the consumer, mobility, social networking and the cloud. These days, it's all about people and information, he said.

"Everything will revolve around people and information. The devices are not that important. Devices will come and go," he said.

Salem said that two of the biggest emerging IT trends on the horizon are the consumerization of IT, and conversely, the IT-ization of consumers. Specifically, a wider range of disparate IT devices, such as Apple iPhones and iPads, RIM BlackBerrys and Android-based smartphones are being -- and will be -- brought into the workplace to be used for business as well as personal use, further blurring the line between work and home.

Users will continually expect to access information that's readily available and secure, even when they're on vacation or away from the office, he said.

"We expect that everything will come together. Your business and personal digital persona will come together," he said. "We expect to be able to conduct our jobs and continue with our personal lives, and have simple and secure access to all the information we need at any time."

Conversely, in a trend that Salem called the IT-ization of the consumer, Salem emphasized that more consumers are buying and investing in technology for daily personal use, but often don’t have the technical expertise or an administrative team to backup and secure those devices, Salem said.

In addition, Salem said that the cloud will continue to "drive efficiencies beyond today," both for enterprise and the SMB, as they look to cut costs and do more with less.

"The enterprise is trying to become more efficient and scalable," he said, noting that the dot-com boom was one of the few periods in IT that sacrificed cost efficiencies for the ability to build out infrastructure. "Building more cost-effective and scalable IT is what matters today," he said.

In light of a myriad of emerging "mega-trends," Salem said that security companies such as Symantec would have to focus on five key enablers: identity security, device security, information protection, context and relevance and the cloud.

NEXT: Salem Tells Partners To Build Solutions Around Key Enablers

1 | 2 | Next >>

To continue reading this article, please download the CRN Tablet Edition app from the iPad App store.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

More Security

Recent Articles

Bit9 Security Survey: Nobody Wants To Be A Headline

What's keeping IT security professionals awake at night? These survey results provide insight into perceived threats and vulnerabilities, the effectiveness of security practices, and opinions about disclosure practices.

Nix That Click: Six Scareware Scams To Watch Out For

SpywareRemove.com provides a list of some of the nastiest rogue antispyware programs out there -- designed to trick people into paying to remove malware from their computers.

Malicious Malware: Six Ways Cybercriminals Beat Security

Cybercriminals have become adept at going around the latest security defenses. Here's a list of some of the most innovative malware in use today.

  More Slide Shows




Related Videos
Loading...