Symantec swallows promising Australian security middleweight

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 19 August 2008 10:52

IT Industry - Listed Tech

Yet another software company has been acquired by Symantec. This time it's security developer PC Tools, yet another promising mid-sized Australian technology company that has fallen to the deep pockets of a multinational acquirer.

PC Tools is - or rather was - an Australian owned company with over 200 staff employed at offices in Australia, the US, the UK, Ireland and Ukraine. It claims millions of users in 196 countries.

Its product range includes antivirus, antispyware, firewall and system utility software for Windows. The company recently introduced an anti-malware product for Mac OS X.

As such, there is considerable overlap between PC Tools' products and those already offered by Symantec, notably under the Norton banner. However, Symantec has announced that the PC Tools business will continue as a separate operation within the consumer business unit, and the brand name will be retained.

PC Tools' chief executive and co-founder Simon Clausen will remain in charge, reporting to Janice Chaffin, Symantec's group president of consumer products.

"We are excited to welcome PC Tools into the Symantec consumer family and believe the combination of our two companies will provide additional value and choice for consumers worldwide to better enable and protect their digital life," said Chaffin.

"By adding PC Tools, we build on the market-leading success of Symantec's consumer offerings and firmly position ourselves for continued incremental growth in a rapidly expanding market."

Which other companies has Symantec picked up over the years? See page two.