__p Antivirus systems promise to be the next big thing, given the steady influx of high-profile virus attacks this year. The recent series of virus attacks experienced by both corporate and domestic users alike has sparked a wave of commercial announcements from companies, claiming its security systems to provide the best protection.
p____p Over the last year or two, there has been a merging of different security product areas such as IDS, firewalls and antivirus, as well as new businesses. There is the ongoing renewals opportunity for resellers. Short- and mid-term prospects also look promising, particularly for resellers who leverage antivirus sales as a way of opening up other security opportunities.
p____p Indeed, the more one explores this kind of holistic approach to selling antivirus systems, the more attractive it becomes. The best way to boost margins in this scenario would be by making consultancy and training services seem invaluable to vulnerable customers.
p____p Which could explain why the market is perceiving a rapid growth, especially in gateway scanning appliances, adopted by enterprise customers.
p____p The antivirus market continues to grow with an added emphasis on resellers who focus on the gateway. While many organizations have deployed antivirus software at the desktop over the years, a large number do not have any protection at the gateway level.
p____p Antivirus software forms a vital component of the overall security sale and due to increasing outbreaks, it often gives resellers the opportunity to get a foot in the door and speak to companies about security from a holistic perspective. This may lead to potential revenue opportunities from services and product sales such as firewalls, content checking, VPN, IDS, etc.
p____p Corporate customers account for 80 percent of antivirus revenue and they are the ones looking more and more at the bottom line costs. Resellers can make the biggest margins by replacing existing antivirus systems with offerings from alternative vendors. It is a promising sector, as we are seeing an increased knowledge and understanding among users.
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