"We know more about security than MS ever will"

SAN FRANCISCO: Ten months into the completion of the merger between Symantec and Veritas, Symantec Corp. today announced its new charter at its annual event, Symantec VISION 2006.





The strategy, borne out of the strengths of merged entities, rests on creating a software infrastructure layer that delivers on two fronts: data security and availability.





Several new product announcements that combine erstwhile Veritas and Symantec product families are expected over the next two days. The products are intended to help Symantec gain a larger footprint in the enterprise market.





John W. Thompson, chairman of the Board and CEO, Symantec said, "This year message management and IT policy compliance are our major focus areas".





The company announced its IT compliance solution comprising a broad set of security and availability products and services, aimed at companies that need to demonstrate compliance across multiple regulations, standards, and guidelines, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and PCI. The solution purports to consolidate all compliance initiatives into a single system.





While Symantec would continue to release newer versions of security products, it plans to deliver a hybrid model of software and service to address the consumer and SMB markets.





Reacting to Microsoft's recent strides in the security area with Windows Live OneCare and the upcoming Vista update to the Windows operating system, Thompson said, "We will out-innovate Microsoft. We know more about security than they ever will."





He added that Microsoft is raising awareness about increased threats and it is Symantec's opportunity to address them. Though Thompson acknowledged that the Microsoft threat was inevitable, he vowed not to concede the consumer market to Microsoft.





Earlier this year, Symantec also announced its initiative to embed security features in VPro, Intel's next major processor release.