October 12th, 2005
Symantec Jacks Up Renewal Prices
By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
Yesterday, Symantec’s CEO, John Thompson, made the statement, “We’re not looking to go whining to the EU or the DOJ for anything.” Even though it had been reported earlier that they were complaining to the European Union about the home computer protection services Microsoft is preparing to launch by year’s end, which have been in beta tester’s hand’s since July.
Today they raised prices on the annual fee their users pay to continue to use their software by as much as 33%. This meant an increase of $5 on the Anti Virus product, firewall, and system works and a $10 increase on their internet security suite .
As Symantec has 40 million subscribers, the price rise could add as much as $250 million to the company’s revenue in its next fiscal year. “The price increase is not typical of the competitive consumer security software market”, Forrester Research analyst Maribel Lopez said. “The trend has always been downward.” The changes reflect that customers now get software enhancements in addition to virus signatures”, she said. Previously the product updates were sold separately.
“We’ve taken a number of actions, including the increase of our subscription prices…to facilitate our move to a subscription model,” Garcia-Manrique said. Symantec has also cut the upfront price of Norton AntiVirus by $10, she noted.
“This move on our part is the right move for the market.” Garcia-Manrique said.
Source: News.com
We Say: Why raise prices now and alienate some of your existing, paying customers? This could definitely be a bad move on their part, especially if Microsoft enter’s the market with rock bottom subscription prices. The OneCare service combines anti-spyware software, with antivirus and firewall software and also add’s several tune-up tools for Windows PCs. The anti spyware product is solid, so I would expect the antivirus to be up to snuff as well, the difference at first will be Symantec, McAffe, and Trend Micro’s experience and speed in stopping the latest viruses.
About The Author: Hi, I’m Jimmy Daniels and I have been blogging and writing on my site for awhile now, hoping to contribute some interesting articles and tech news.
justin says:
Thank goodness I get my Symantec AV free from my University.
I don’t know what I’m going to do when I don’t have that any longer.
October 13th, 2005 at 4:39 am
John Corliss says:
IMO it’s all a protection racket anyway. I use AVG free edition, and when antivirus protection no longer is free, I will stop being online.
Think about it; it’s in the best interest of the major software companies to ensure that the computing community is protected from malware AND FOR FREE. Yet they don’t seem to understand this.
Instead, they look to make money from this scheme. If they’re going to start charging for protection, then they will have a vested interest in ensuring that the malware out there is more effective. This may already, in fact, bet the case to some degree. However, once Microsoft enters the AV market, IMO they will have no credibility. The first time I get hit with a malware that I can’t deal with for free, I will convert my computer into a glorified, OFFLINE typewriter.
October 13th, 2005 at 4:46 am
JavaMann says:
I’m not sure I agree with the knee-jerk type of reaction of staying offline - That reminds me of when gas prices were around 50 cents a gallon, and people would say they would WALK when gas hit a dollar. Here we are 30 years later and everyone’s still driving, even with $3/gallon prices.
I DO think that Symantec is shooting themselves in the foot with this strategy though. I personally run four computers in our house, and used to be NAV all the way. If I recall correctly, it seems like a couple years ago subscription prices went from $20 to $30 a year. That’s when I tried AVG Free Edition on one computer, then another. Looks like it’s time to put them all on it. I truly don’t expect a free ride forever, but There are lots of hungry programmer/entrepreneurs out there, so I suspect there will always be something or somebody to provide what we want for a *reasonable* fee.
October 13th, 2005 at 5:42 am
Marcos V says:
When you got multiple computers to protect, Symantec’s pricing structure gets ridiculous. As for upgrading the product every year due to new features and enhancements, Symantec hasn’t been very good at doing that. I’ve stopped buying Systemworks because Norton Utilities — the parts I actually use — don’t improve quickly.
I’ve used AntiVirus on my main system and free McAfee on the other systems (due to a deal through work — also offered by my ISP, Comcast).
When my current AntiVirus subscription ends, I’ll either try the Microsoft stuff, or go to Mcafee. It will depend on stable and bugfree the various anti virus engines are.
October 13th, 2005 at 6:57 am
James says:
I don’t get it. Every week, Fry’s has the upgrade or crossgrade version of Symantec or McAfee on sale - for free after rebate, if it’s an upgrade. Why would somebody pay for an annual subscription when they can get it for free?
October 13th, 2005 at 7:29 am
Alice says:
Welcome Jimmy! We look forward to more great pieces like this.
October 13th, 2005 at 11:34 am
Jimmy says:
Thanks Alice, it’s an honor to be here.
October 13th, 2005 at 11:58 am
justin says:
Symantec is probably running out of money to pay virus writers.
October 13th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
Symantec Jacks Up Renewal Prices On Anti-Virus Products
Jimmy Daniels of RealTechNews.com writes: Yesterday, Symantec’s CEO, John Thompson, made the statement, “We’re not looking to go whining to the EU or the DOJ for anything.” Even though it had been reported earlier that it was complaining to the Eur…
October 13th, 2005 at 9:19 pm
Tinman says:
I made up my mind last year when they raised the subscription prices by over 100%, and now they have gone up another 33%! When my subscription runs out, I’m dropping Norton AV like a hot virus. Not to mention that Symantec’s Customer Support is non-existant. I have filed 3 help request through their web site, and as of today, more than 8 months later, I still haven’t received a reply. Symantec has gone down hill consistantly for years, dropping support for software that is barely 2 years old and forcing their customers to upgrade at inflated prices, with the upgrades actually leaving out functions. Imagine my surprise when I “Upgraded” to find that they dropped the Registry cleaner program! The “Upgrade” before that left out GoBack, they say because it was so buggy. And did I mention bugs galore? Every new upgrade includes many new bugs, a lot of them critical, and it has taken them up to 4 months to find a solution for some of these. I say good riddance Symantec, There’s a lot of good software out there and I’m already putting my list together…..
October 14th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
martinelli says:
Cool! One of those things companies do to accellerate the very problem they’re trying to prevent. The axe chopping at the roots of the company can be heard from afar and the weilder isn’t a competitor, but the company itself. Heh!
October 17th, 2005 at 7:25 am