Leading Market Research Firm Confirms That Websense Is the World’s Foremost Provider of Web Filtering Solutions
Market Share Increases 28 Percent As Customers Recognise Superior Quality and Value Delivered by Websense Enterprise(r) Solution
London, 9 July 2003 – Websense Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), the world’s leading provider of employee Internet management (EIM) solutions, today announced that IDC, the leading provider of technology analysis, has confirmed that Websense is the market share leader in the Web filtering segment of the Secure Content Management market.
According to the IDC study, Worldwide Secure Content Management Forecast Update and Competitive Vendor Shares, 2002-2007, Websense increased its market share by 28 percent, to 23 percent overall, primarily at the expense of the company’s two nearest competitors, each of whose market share declined during the year.
Websense increased its revenue by more than 71 percent in 2002, from $35.6 million in 2001 to $61 million in 2002. This increase, which represented 37 percent of the total Web filtering market growth in 2002, was more than twice that of the company’s nearest competitor and more than ten times that of its second largest competitor. Websense 2002 billings, which represent the total amount of subscription contracts billed to customers, increased $27.1 million from 2001 to total $82.2 million.
“Our strong market share gains this year make it clear that Websense Enterprise is the solution of choice for customers requiring a highly accurate and flexible EIM solution that adapts to their specific needs and Internet usage patterns,” said Geoff Haggart, VP, EMEA, Websense.
“Our customers, which include many of the world’s largest commercial and government organisations, recognise that they cannot afford the legal, productivity and security risks associated with lower quality databases and less scalable solutions. Additionally, we have significantly enhanced our offerings to address new risks associated with the use of instant messaging, peer-to-peer file sharing and unauthorised desktop applications. We expect our market share to continue to grow as more and more enterprises seek to mitigate the security and productivity risks that are created by widespread employee use of these technologies.”
According to the IDC report, the Secure Content Market, which includes messaging security, Web filtering and antiviral software, is expected to grow from $2.7 billion in 2002 to $6.4 billion in 2007. The Websense solution spans all three market segments, with features and functionality that allow organisations to manage employee use of instant messaging, peer-to-peer file-sharing, desktop applications, and the Internet from a single management console.
Additionally, integrated reporting tools that allow for real-time analysis and Web-based reporting further enhance the solution by giving non-technical managers instant visibility into employee computing patterns for early identification of potential risk areas. “Websense is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for corporations to secure the total employee computing environment,” said Chris Christiansen, program vice president at IDC and author of the report. “The company’s recently released next generation EIM solution, Websense Enterprise version 5, addresses the complexity of managing multiple points in the employee computing environment, and complements existing antiviral software to create a layered approach to network security.”
The IDC study concludes that hybrid threats that can invade the network and desktop computers through peer-to-peer file sharing and instant messaging, such as Nimda and Code Red, are now the most significant online threat to companies. Additionally, a recent IDC survey indicated that as many as 30 percent of detected virus attacks are not immediately repelled by existing antiviral software, creating a significant security gap for many organisations.
As a result, IDC projects that there will be a strong push to a layered security approach that encompasses both the desktop and the email gateway. To this end, Websense Client Application Manager(tm) (CAM), an add-on module of Websense Enterprise v5 software that enforces application usage policies at the desktop, enables a company to immediately stop the spread of a rogue application by blocking its launch at the desktop level. In addition, Websense CAM allows companies to proactively lockdown employee desktops to prevent the execution of any unauthorised software, whether malicious or not.
An abstract to the IDC report is available on the IDC Web site at http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jhtml?containerId=29635. For more information about Websense industry leading EIM solutions, contact sales@websense.com.
About Websense Inc.
Websense Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) is the world’s leading provider of employee Internet management solutions. Websense Enterprise software enables organisations to manage how employees use their computing resources, including Internet access, desktop applications and network bandwidth. This helps improve productivity and security, conserve network resources, and mitigate legal liability. Websense serves more than 18,500 customers worldwide, including many of the world’s largest corporations. For more information, visit www.websense.com.