The recent triple whammy of virus attacks from Blaster, Welchia and SoBig has once again catapulted computer security to the top of the IT agenda in many firms. But, according to a forthcoming survey of Irish IT managers and senior executives, a significant percentage of staff is unfamiliar with the standard products used to repel security infringements.
In a new study by IDC, 28pc of respondents were unable to name a single security software brand. The research, due to be published in a major upcoming IDC report: ‘IT Trends & Expenditure’, also lists the brands achieving the highest recognition among users.
Way out in front is Norton, the well known anti-virus brand owned by Symantec, with 22.6pc. Next comes Symantec itself (9pc), McAfee (8.26pc), Cisco (5.8pc), Check Point (4.8pc), Network Associates (3.06) and, finally, Dr Solomon’s (1.22pc).
The survey polled 327 people across Irish organisations of all sizes. The respondent in each case was the ‘individual with responsibility for making IT procurement decisions’. In many medium-sized and large companies, this would be the IT manager/director. In small ones, it could be the managing director or financial head. The above answers were given in response to the question: “When you think of security software what brand comes to mind?”
The research concluded that end users were baffled by the bewildering array of products and solutions available and instead were looking for vendors to help them understand the real risk their organisations face.
By Brian Skelly
