The VAR Guy

Symantec CEO John Thompson will be in New York for a private company event on October 10, The VAR Guy has learned. During the gathering, it’s a pretty safe bet Thompson will mention Symantec’s strategy to become a $10 billion company by 2010.

Reuters and other media companies first heard about the strategy during Thompson’s business trip to Barcelona on October 8. But The VAR Guy has to give credit where credit is due: Vertical Systems Reseller covered Thompson’s $10 billion revenue goal in its August cover story.

The march toward $10 billion won’t be easy for Symantec and its partners. The company is openly worried that Microsoft will use Windows Vista to gain an unfair advantage in the security sector. (Microsoft denies the charge.) And some VARs could be tempted to sell a Microsoft-only security solution.

Thompson has been down this road before. In the mid-1990s, he ran much of the OS/2 business for IBM.

This time around, he’s got the upper hand. By announcing the $10 billion revenue goal for 2010, Thompson achieves multiple goals. First, he establishes that Symantec is a “big” software-centric company that won’t be bullied by Microsoft. He also inspires small, innovative security firms to keep Symantec in mind if they’re looking to partner or be purchased. And Thompson establishes a built-in price premium for Symantec if industry titans such as Cisco Systems or
Hewlett-Packard are interested in merging.

Got questions for John Thompson and Symantec? Send them along today and The VAR Guy will be sure to pose them during Symantec’s October 10 event in Manhattan.