Symantec punching above its weight with Microsoft

Stan Beer
Monday, 22 May 2006 18:57

Opinion and Analysis

A recent report has Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer stating that he doesn't expect any delay to the release of Windows Vista as a result of the recent lawsuit from security vendor Symantec. Well he would say that of course but the market obviously believes him because Microsoft's share price has hardly moved as a result of the lawsuit.

If it was any other CEO telling Reuters that a far reaching lawsuit, such as the one launched by Symantec, would not have any effect on the release date of a product that is years overdue already, the market would probably not buy it. However, this is Microsoft and apparently no-one seriously believes that Symantec has a hope in hell of stopping it from bringing an absolutely crucial product like Vista to market.

It's hard not to be cynical about the timing of the Symantec lawsuit given that Microsoft and its new operating system are plainly threatening to negatively impact the security company's market share. More than a few market analysts have noted the recent diversification of Symantec into peripheral areas such as identity management. The veritas acquisition was one such move.

However, few were expecting a brazen full frontal attack on the integrity and livelihood of the world's most successful software company. What Symantec is attempting to do is effectively to slash Microsoft's jugular. Symantec has made some very serious allegations that cut to the heart of Mictrosoft's business. If Symantec were to succeed in stopping the Vista project and to force Microsoft to redevelop large portions of the software, it would be a disaster for the software giant.

However, as the market has demonstrated, not many seriously believe that Symantec will succeed in its quest to unseat the Vista project. This raises the question then what's to become of Symantec. With shares on a downward slide for the past 12 months and the threat of Microsoft becoming a major competitor, Symantec's future would appear to lay in using its cash to find new markets and products rather than wasting time trying to punch above its weight.