Europe fears Microsoft's security push

European security software makers are closely, but quietly, watching as Microsoft enters their turf.

Companies such as F-Secure, Panda Software and Sophos are taking a low-key approach, unlike their US counterparts. Symantec, in particular, has been vocal in its opposition to Microsoft, even sending executives to Europe to talk to reporters about how it fears the software giant will undercut security rivals with Windows Vista.

That doesn't mean, however, that the Europeans don't share the concerns that have been voiced by Symantec, McAfee and others.

"We should regard Microsoft's entry into this space as a threat," said Josu Franco, director of corporate development at Panda Software in Bilbao, Spain. "Microsoft is trying to leverage its monopoly in the desktop to compete in the antivirus space, and we should call that abuse."

Europe is a key battleground for Microsoft as it gets ready to ship Vista, the successor to Windows XP that is slated to be broadly available in January. The European Commission has already warned Microsoft to stick to its competition rules — in particular, those that prohibit abuse of a dominant market position. Microsoft continues to seek out what's permissible in Vista.

Europe has many small companies that sell antivirus and other security products. Some are concerned that they face the same fate as Netscape, the venerable browser company that saw its business evaporate after Microsoft added Internet Explorer to Windows.

"All of them are concerned, and should be," said Thomas Raschke, a Denmark-based analyst at Forrester Research. "The security market, and particularly the most mature areas like antivirus and firewalls, is maturing and consolidating rapidly. Many of the companies will either have to join forces or disappear."

"I don't think that anybody would say that having Internet Explorer on over 90 percent of desktops has been good for consumers in terms of innovation, user choice and especially in security. We all know that this monoculture in browsers has been bad," Franco said.

But Microsoft maintains that it can't protect Windows on its own and that other security companies are important.

"We don't believe that Microsoft can solve this problem by itself, and we need the industry's support in this effort," said Adrien Robinson, a business development manager at Microsoft. "The more that we can do with partners, the better for our customers."

Security software and features have emerged as the hottest topic among a number of concerns with Vista, which will come with added security technology. At the same time, Microsoft is pushing into the security space with a new product for consumers, Windows Live OneCare, and is working on protective business products under the Forefront brand.

"As long as Microsoft allows equal access to the operating system, we can differentiate," said Steve Munford, chief executive of Sophos, a security company in Abingdon. "We have to make sure that we have a broader and more comprehensive strategy than Microsoft."

Symantec, which leads the worldwide antivirus software market, has been loudest in raising the alarm over Vista and Microsoft's entry into the security arena. Chief executive John Thompson earlier this year warned of a future where all security applications are provided by Microsoft.

"The concerns from the US companies are real," said Risto Siilasmaa, chief executive officer at F-Secure, based in Helsinki.

Pricing concerns
Predatory pricing is of particular concern, said Siilasmaa. "If Microsoft starts to offer their solutions at significantly reduced price levels to gain market share, and then plans to raise prices again after a few years, that obviously is a business issue all the companies have to tackle," he said.

Microsoft could change the game on pricing, Munford agreed. "You always think about predatory pricing, but I have not seen any evidence of it," he said. Siilasmaa also said he hasn't yet seen any signs that the software giant will sell its products at artificially low prices in order to harm rivals.

In the short term, Microsoft's entry into the security industry might mean lower prices, but that isn't necessarily good for software buyers, Franco said. "We would think that Microsoft tactics to compete in this space will ultimately hurt consumers," he said.

The software giant has introduced its Windows Live OneCare in the US, but the consumer security product is not yet available in Europe.

In addition to a firewall, which was also part of XP, Vista will include anti-spyware software called "Windows Defender" and a new…