The anti-virus market will grow to reach $7.49bn by 2012, according to market analyst Frost & Sullivan (F&S). Last year, the market was worth $3.27bn.

Increasinlgy, Malware is written as a tool to obtain confidential user information by phishing fraudsters and the like. Greater awareness of this trends will drive enterprise and individuals to invest in anti-virus and other security technologies, according to F&S.

Microsoft's enormous marketing and branding power, as well as its lower prices, threaten established vendors and will likely drive down the price of consumer anti-virus products.

"Established vendors should position themselves along their expertise in the security market", Frost & Sullivan research analyst Katie Gotzen said. "In order to retain channel partners, as well as business and private customers, existing players should deploy loyalty marketing. Another option is focusing on growth in areas where Microsoft is not competing, such as security solutions for Linux." ®

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