If you ask most consumers and small business personnel what they know about security, they’ll talk about antivirus software. After all, antivirus is part of the standard PC build and almost universally deployed. I know Microsoft said 50% of the market wasn’t using antivirus when it launched Forefront, but I guess I only deal with the 50% that has deployed antivirus. Everyone I know seems to have it. So what does that mean for security value-added resellers (VARs) and solution providers?
Looking at the market for antivirus services through the prism of the security channel, there are a couple of observations to be made:
Don’t ignore the power of inertia: A vast majority of antivirus service renewals just happen. Of course, it’s not as easy as that. You actually do need to generate a quote and collect the money, but most customers just write the check because they think they should.
