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Storage, Security And Wireless To Thrive In 2003

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DQC Bureau
New Update

Majority of the leading lights of the industry that we have featured in the

New Year Special pages of this issue are betting on storage, security and

wireless. They say business will be on the upswing in these areas during 2003

and beyond.

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They may very well be right because business in back-up storage solutions had

already seen a steady rise after 9/11 and growth continues to happen in this

area. Internet data centers, growth in banking and insurance sectors and demand

for 24x7 support systems have ensured that storage remains in demand.

Network storage is expected to further grow during 2003 because of the

growing complexity of the data. SAN technology has taken a lead in the network

storage arena over other technologies. Last financial year’s data shows that

that the market share of this particular technology has increased by 10 percent

compared to NAS and DAS.

Security is another area where partners have already seen bigger business

during 2002 which is expected to continue during 2003 as well. For instance,

business of one of the leading vendors of security software grew 30 percent

compared to the same quarter last year and represented 44 percent of the total

revenue. Performance in the enterprise security business saw 61 percent growth

in firewall/VPN sales and 36 percent growth in anti-virus sales compared to the

same quarter last year.

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The same vendor’s security services revenue grew 102 percent compared to

the same quarter last year, supported by 127 percent growth in managed security

services. The consumer anti-virus business grew 68 percent and represented 38

percent of total revenue, showing a growth of 76 percent compared to the same

quarter last year.

These are solid figures of growth and that too of a single company. Similar

growth stories in security business are common for almost all the software

players who hope to see even bigger growth in 2003 and beyond.

Coming to the wireless segment, the de-licensing of the 2.4 GHz frequency for

indoor use by the Government has come as a major boost to the industry which now

awaits the de-licensing of the frequency for wide area networks (WAN).

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When de-licensing of the frequency for wireless WANs takes place, industry

will have to be ready with security solutions because this is one area where the

growth can take a major hit. Though leaders speak with much optimism about brisk

business in wireless products during 2003 and beyond, unless security measures

such as third-party authentication and encryption are tackled on an urgent

basis, the growth may not reach the expected levels.

So, if you are tired of box-pushing, it is time that you got into the areas

of storage, security and wireless and offer solutions to customers around these

technologies. Margins are guaranteed here if you are willing to invest on the

development of the skill-sets of your people.

sylvesterl@cmil.com

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