Case Study 3: Kaspersky Lab
1. Perform a SWOT analysis for KL.
Strengths:
- Qualified and motived workforce: good work conditions, incentives (stock options, bonuses, various helps…), talented engineers
- Products with leading-edge technology: hourly updates, efficiency for detecting viruses
- great international adaptation: ability to answer to needs of each market
-> KL won many awards for the quality of its software, the good work conditions and its capacity to innovate.
Weaknesses:
- Lower market share in business market
- Arrived late in the US market -> delay to catch up
- Negative corporate image due to its country of origin (Russia)
Opportunities:
- Growth market thanks to the development of cybercrime industry and the fact that more and more people use the Internet
- Endpoint security market in constant growth : lots of customers agree to pay an expensive software if it’s very efficient, because the number of malicious programs is increasing and they want to have a total protection
- Smartphones also need protection against viruses : launching security software for mobile devices
Threats:
- Hackers are always one step ahead antivirus software, so these software are not 100% safe
- Free antivirus software (for example Avast) are a big threat for traditional IT security companies.
2. From the KL's standpoint, how would you segment the potential market for anti-virus products? Evaluate KL's performances in each of the segments.
Even if Kaspersky Lab’s revenue greatly and constantly increase since it was founded, it doesn’t perform in the same way in each branch of the anti-virus product market. This market can be segmented in different ways. First, it differs in the kind of client, depending if it is for consumers or for businesses. Products supply, distribution, marketing and prices are very different between both markets. Kaspersky Lab performs better in consumer market (3rd biggest vendor of IT security software in the world in 2010) than in the corporate one (world 5th largest
Strengths:
- Qualified and motived workforce: good work conditions, incentives (stock options, bonuses, various helps…), talented engineers
- Products with leading-edge technology: hourly updates, efficiency for detecting viruses
- great international adaptation: ability to answer to needs of each market
-> KL won many awards for the quality of its software, the good work conditions and its capacity to innovate.
Weaknesses:
- Lower market share in business market
- Arrived late in the US market -> delay to catch up
- Negative corporate image due to its country of origin (Russia)
Opportunities:
- Growth market thanks to the development of cybercrime industry and the fact that more and more people use the Internet
- Endpoint security market in constant growth : lots of customers agree to pay an expensive software if it’s very efficient, because the number of malicious programs is increasing and they want to have a total protection
- Smartphones also need protection against viruses : launching security software for mobile devices
Threats:
- Hackers are always one step ahead antivirus software, so these software are not 100% safe
- Free antivirus software (for example Avast) are a big threat for traditional IT security companies.
2. From the KL's standpoint, how would you segment the potential market for anti-virus products? Evaluate KL's performances in each of the segments.
Even if Kaspersky Lab’s revenue greatly and constantly increase since it was founded, it doesn’t perform in the same way in each branch of the anti-virus product market. This market can be segmented in different ways. First, it differs in the kind of client, depending if it is for consumers or for businesses. Products supply, distribution, marketing and prices are very different between both markets. Kaspersky Lab performs better in consumer market (3rd biggest vendor of IT security software in the world in 2010) than in the corporate one (world 5th largest