In the Asia Pacific security software market, a reputation for innovation is a competitive advantage, according to an IDC survey of enterprise IT end-users in Australia, India, Korea and PRC. Vendors rated as innovative in the area of security software are traditional heavyweights such as Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro, and large infrastructure software vendors, including IBM and Microsoft. Local security vendors including Rising in China and Ahnlab in Korea also received encouraging ratings in this survey.

"Interestingly in Korea and PRC, the local security software vendors, though smaller than international players, dominated the mindshare for product and process innovation. IDC believes that this augurs well for these vendors when end-users are basing buying decisions on vendor innovation," said Willie Low, Senior Market Analyst of IDC's Asia/Pacific Infrastructure Software research.

Several of the large infrastructure software vendors that did well in this survey do not have security as their primary business focus. This indicates that the other product lines in the portfolio of the vendor could have influenced the perception of how innovative a vendor's security products are. These players may have the opportunity to leverage their brand equity to leapfrog competitors in the security software business, especially if they are trusted names in the market for other products.

This has implications for all vendors in the security software market. For large IT infrastructure vendors entering the security market, the perception of how innovative their other business lines are can make or break their security software business. On the other hand, existing security vendors looking to diversify into other markets will need to consider if their new business lines will affect their core security business.

The importance of innovation in the buying decision is clearly shown by the high ratings across the countries. This underscores the importance of continued innovation by vendors along multiple dimensions in order to keep up with the fast-changing security software market.

"When software vendors innovate, users are looking for tangible benefits such as improvements to business productivity, cost savings, and fewer integration problems," said Low

When respondents were asked about the benefits they look for when software vendors innovate, the response that made it to the top 3 list in all 4 countries was "more value for money as vendors bundle new features in products". This indicates that organizations may be looking for value in their software investments, and not just the price. In general, many companies in the region may come across as being price sensitive, but this survey result suggests that companies in these countries may be willing to invest in more expensive software solutions if they see the value of their investments to the business.

About this study

The IDC report, Innovation in the Security Software Market: Top Vendors from A Mindshare Perspective, provides the insights to better understand the security and general software usage and experiences of the enterprises in Australia, Korea, China, and India, with focus on innovation from a mindshare perspective.

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