ARC 2010: Network Security Software
Specifically, Trend Micro ranked highest in the areas of Product Quality and Reliability, Compatibility and Ease of Integration, and Richness of Product Features.
/**/ /**/Trend Micro executives say that the company's high Product Innovation scores were the result of a comprehensive and deliberate quality assurance process that has included a concerted effort to reach out to more customers before officially launching a product, as well as adding staff to R&D teams.
"There is a heavy focus on bringing products to market that have been vetted by customers. There is a huge product focus, which includes input from channel partners," said Dan Woodward, Trend Micro vice president of U.S. marketing.
Tim Carney, CEO of Network Guys, a Fremont, Calif.-based VAR, said that several of Trend Micro's product lines have improved by leaps and bounds from just a few years ago.
"A year ago, I don't think I would have bought Trend; I didn't know much about the product," Carney said. "As we got more into it, we found that Deep Security is a much more versatile product than it was a year ago. It fits a lot of our needs. We've sold a fair amount, and we haven't gotten any returns."
Trend Micro scores dropped in the Support category, however, with a low in the criteria of Marketing Support.
However, Carney said he hasn't experienced any support challenges with Trend Micro. "Nobody's complained about our support," he said. "Backing up the home office or the desktop is tough. The points of entry are numerous. That makes support more difficult than if we're selling a router."
Steve Mungall, Trend Micro vice president of U.S. channel sales, said the company is finalizing a plan to enhance the partnership and support experience. One initiative includes expanding second-level support to the top two partner levels, while giving any partner access to second-level support for a situation involving a customer.
"If, for some reason, you're not in that top two [partner] level, you still have a fast-pass approach when you're servicing a customer," he said.