While the squabbling brats of the anti-virus market, Network Associates Inc and Symantec Corp continue to clutter up the Internet with their endless claims and counter claims over market share and stolen source code, UK-based Dr Solomon’s Group Plc is happy to let its numbers do the talking. Second quarter earnings to November 30 rose six fold to 2.3m pounds while revenues increased 71% to 15m pounds. Last year, Network Associates (then called McAfee) claimed to be coming to the UK with an army, but over at Dr Solomon’s they’ve being listening to Bill Larson’s hype for years. The Aylesbury-based company estimates its market share in the UK has remained stable at around 70%, despite its rival’s posturing. Larson desperately wants to be the CEO of something bigger than just a niche player in the small pond that is anti-virus products. Hence his deal to sign McAfee up with the lumbering Network General Corp last October. A deal which doubled his company’s size, but lost McAfee’s investors a quarter of their money. Meanwhile, David Stephen, finance director at Dr Solomon’s, feels that there’s no need to harbor delusions of grandeur. He sees a future for his own company in continuing to provide a focused anti-virus product, arguing that there will always be room in the market for the best point product available. Having been 80% UK-based three years ago, Dr Solomon’s now does just 50% of its revenues in the UK, with around 20% coming from the two and a half year old US operation, and the remainder spread across Germany and the rest of the world. And these other areas are significant because while the UK and US markets are rapidly maturing, Stephen sees the emerging markets of South America, Asia Pacific and certain areas of Europe as the next big growth opportunity. Many corporate entities in Southern Europe, for example, still don’t have an organized anti-virus effort. If Dr Solomon’s wants to keep growing at its present rate, these are the markets it will have to grapple with, as competition in its existing markets gets stiffer and stiffer. Results from both Network Associates Inc and Symantec Corp are due out today, both of which should make interesting reading.
