Trend Micro aiming aggressively at small businesses this year

  • Small business owners still need to be educated, AV software alone is not enough
  • 2014 revenue growth could hit over 50%, APT solutions market picks up strongly

Trend Micro aiming aggressively at small businesses this yearSECURITY solutions provider Trend Micro Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s priority for 2014 would be on growing its small business customer segment, as it aims to grow its revenue by more than one-third this year, although it did not give actual financial figures.
 
Currently, the small businesses segment remains one of the company’s smallest revenue contributor, making up less than 10% of total revenue. The enterprise segment, which is inclusive of the government sector, is the largest contributor, with some 60% of the company's revenue coming from it.
 
“We believe that in the long run, the small business market can play a significant role as there are many [such businesses] here [in Malaysia],” Trend Micro Malaysia managing director Goh Chee Hoh (pic) said during a recent media luncheon.
 
“There is so much potential in small businesses … as they are still not big adopters of cyber-security solutions. Education and awareness still need to be done.
 
“They need to know that today, in order to protect their businesses from IT threats, they need more than just antivirus software,” he added.
 
Goh said that the small business market could contribute 15% of the company’s total revenue in three years.
 
The company also foresees growth in its Deep Discovery security solutions that specialise in handling Advance Persistent Threats (APTs).
 
An APT usually refers to a network attack in which an unauthorised person gains access to a network and stays there undetected for a long time. It usually targets companies and organisations with high- value information.
 
“Solutions for the APT space are still largely untapped. From what we know, the untapped market is about 95%. It is also estimated that the APT solutions market could hit US$1.17 billion by 2017, with a compounded annual growth rate of 42%,” Goh said.
 
He said that should government agencies and ministries, as well as large corporations, start to adopt solutions that will protect them from APTs, Trend Micro’s revenue growth by year-end could be much higher.
 
“If this really kicks in and the Government enforces [security against APTs] aggressively, we foresee growth has the potential to surpass 50%. One APT [customer] can be bigger than the whole small business market," he said.
 
However, with the Malaysian Government looking at reducing subsidies on fuel and electricity, the likelihood is that small businesses will likely be hit by rising costs. In such a difficult environment, they may not want to invest in IT security solutions.
 
When asked if small businesses should cut their spending on such security solutions, Goh said that it is vital for business owners to look beyond expenses.
 
“You can't just look at cost or expenses, you need to look at the return on investment (ROI). For example, spending a few hundred thousand to protect information worth a few millions or tens of millions, is good ROI,” he claimed.
 
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Govt malware, insider threats to dominate security landscape: CyberArk
 
More Malaysian SMBs to invest in network security: Fortinet
 
 
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