Security Software Category Profile

The rise in overall satisfaction in the Security Software category masks a general perception that vendors aren't doing enough to introduce innovation to their products and programs, and to enable their partners' businesses or combat emerging threats. After dipping last year, Security Software scores rose 4 points in the 2006 VARBusiness Annual Report Card (ARC) survey, in which solution providers rate their vendors on a 100-point scale. While vendors' scores in three areas (Product Innovation, Support and Partnership) remained nearly flat from last year, the category itself was buoyed by an across-the-board spike in Loyalty scores. VARBusiness expanded that portion of the study.

Nevertheless, this category had among the lowest scores in the 19 evaluated. Many ARC participants gave vendors low marks in hopes of influencing what they perceive as shortcomings in vendors' programs and products.

"There's a huge void to fill in security, and the security industry has a lot of catching up to do," says Ryan Garnache, the McAfee on-site representative at Zones, a solution provider in Auburn, Wash.

Vendors fell short most markedly in Support and Partnership. Of the seven manufacturers evaluated in Security Software, three of them--CA, Check Point and Symantec--were cited by VARs as not having the best quality of technical support.

"Customer support is huge," says Dave Bender, owner of Alpha Computer Services, a VAR in Fort Wayne, Ind. "When companies [don't] answer the phone, customers call the local computer shops, and we end up answering the phone."

On a more positive note, Cisco Systems led the pack in this category for the third straight year. With an overall score of 76, the networking giant edged out Trend Micro, which received a 75. McAfee earned a 69, and Juniper and Check Point tied at 68. Symantec came in sixth with a 66, and CA placed last, scoring a 63.

VARs say that Cisco's strong suit is its holistic approach to security--its integrated products and easy-to-use software.

"There are so many companies out there with great niche products, but none are approaching it the way Cisco is," says Anne Garcia, a senior account manager at Berbee Information Networks, a solution provider in Madison, Wis. "They may not have the greatest [individual] products, but they have the most comprehensive offering."

The company is also excelling in marketing support. Its ubiquitous television ads may not have a direct impact on the channel, but solution providers say they do raise the level of awareness among end users.

But features/functionality and innovation were key criteria for solution providers rating vendors. Trend Micro topped the field for Product Innovation, outscoring all others for its richness of features, technical innovation, and compatibility & ease of integration (77, 76 and 75, respectively). On the whole, though, VARs say that vendors need to expand the capabilities of their security products.

Solution providers said they're happy with Check Point's enterprise- software products, particularly its premier offering, FireWall-1, but in the midmarket, the vendor needs to start focusing its energy or drop out of the race altogether.

As for Symantec, its ARC results show that market share doesn't translate into success with the channel.

The men in yellow hovered just above the bottom of the pack, with the second-lowest scores in Product Innovation (66) and Support (60). In Partnership, the vendor earned a 59, tying with CA for the lowest score, and its 72 in Loyalty put it only 3 points ahead of CA, the last-place finisher.