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Symantec, which reported its second quarter results last night, is enjoying solid demand for its storage products, although the European enterprise market remains a major problem for the company. (See Symantec Reports Q2.)
"The single largest problem is the central [European] region -- Germany is struggling with its own economic woes," explained Symantec CEO John Thompson on a conference call last night, referring to the planned tax increases that are expected to slow the German economy.
But Symantec also needs to get its own European house in order, according to the CEO. Even a year after acquiring Veritas for $13.5 billion, there are lingering integration challenges. (See Symantec & Veritas: It's a Deal.) "Our European team have lost their security swagger, they have not quite figured out how to embrace the totality of our portfolio... That's unfortunate, but it's something that will be fixed," explained Thompson, adding that Symantec has already made management changes in the region.
But Europe, where firms are wrestling with a slew of compliance and security challenges, is a significant enough market to affect the vendor's overall enterprise business. (See Top Tips for Compliance , The Upside of Compliance, and ITIL Irritates IT Managers.)
At least one analyst firm voiced its concern today about this part of the Symantec empire. Sales of the vendor's enterprise products were $880 million in the second quarter, up 5 percent year over year, although this was well below W.R. Hambrecht's estimate of $925.4 million.
With the move to the cloud, CISOs must shift priorities from operating security programs to overseeing (monitoring and auditing) outsourced cybersecurity programs.
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