Symantec 1999 Annual Report Download - page 5

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solutions inside business units and then looking for suitable customers. To target our efforts more efficiently,
we are committed to strengthening cross-company coordination of all our development, marketing, and business
alliance activities. xSecond, because the information landscape is changing so quickly, customers
don’t often know their exact wants and needs. This affords us the opportunity to shape their expectations
with solutions to problems they might not even realize they have—to be perceived not merely as a reliable
utility company but as a leading innovator in keeping our customers’ network environment safe, secure, and
simple. We expect that our actions in this area will result in significant growth opportunities for our Company.
BUILDING ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS
I am pleased to say that in fiscal 1999 we made measurable progress in building our business among enterprise
customers. While we are maintaining our strong position in the consumer market with products such as Norton
SystemWorks and Norton AntiVirus, revenue from enterprise solutions drove much of the Company’s growth
during the past year, increasing to 39% of total revenue—up from 31% in the prior year. xWe
continue to see positive results stemming from two recent agreements. First, our purchase of Intel
Corporation’s anti-virus business in September 1998 has enabled us to license Intel systems management
technology to create best-of-class anti-virus solutions for corporate organizations. In addition to enlisting our
support for its vast number of registered anti-virus customers, Intel recommends Norton AntiVirus to its own
corporate customers worldwide. Second, our partnership with IBM gives us increased access into the enterprise
market, which in turn has generated more revenue among our largest customers. xTo help these
customers manage data and data access on today’s heterogeneous networks, Symantec in fiscal 1999 again
delivered award-winning solutions in the areas of content security, remote worker productivity, and complex
Java business applications development. These solutions—from both our core business and our newly
independent Internet Tools company—are ideally suited to the direction in which the connected world is moving:
5[
SYMANTEC CORPORATION
6
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SYMANTEC CORPORATION
1999, we began the process of spinning off one of our three business units, Internet Tools, into a separate and
independent company. The new company will target the enterprise market with solutions for e-commerce and
for web-enabling business systems and legacy applications. This refocused approach will allow us to better
leverage our skills and technologies, execute against opportunities much more quickly, and deliver enhanced
value for stockholders and customers alike. xBesides representing a significant strategic opportunity,
our new Internet Tools company is also a perfect example of our practicing what we preach: the value of
Internet-enabling all dimensions of an enterprise for greater business advantage. Our own business of selling,
marketing, and providing service to our customers via the Internet is in fact growing rapidly. Today, 65% of all
Symantec’s technical support is handled online. And with over 80% of our product registrations happening online,
our LiveUpdate and LiveReg software are important examples of the way Symantec has been moving rapidly to
provide an interactive, web-based component for every key business process in our company.
THINKING LIKE OUR CUSTOMERS
As networks allow users to reach outward, beyond the walls of their home or office, our long heritage of
understanding the needs of these users has given us an extremely strong platform on which to build the new
solutions they will require. Close attention to the way our customers think and work has long been a hallmark
of our operating philosophy, and I am pleased to say that Symantec has continued to strengthen this awareness
over the past few years. xHowever, one of the prerogatives I enjoy in my new capacity as head of
the Company is the right to be impatient. And because I believe that this fundamental initiative—learning to
think the way our customers do—is so critical to our future success, we must redouble our efforts to align
ourselves with the wants and needs of the people we serve, including both the enterprise buyer and the individual
consumer. xThis customer-centric approach will yield two important benefits. First, it will allow us
to better leverage our core technologies across well-understood market segments, instead of packaging
opportunities for Symantec in this connected world are tremendous. The software and support services we supply are mission-critical to the enterprise. Symantec will continue to be known for solutions that enhance