Symantec 2011 Annual Report Download - page 74

PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
Symantec is a global provider of security, storage, and systems management solutions that help businesses and
consumers secure and manage their information and identities. We conduct our business in three geographic
regions: Americas, which is comprised of the United States, Canada, and Latin America; Europe, the Middle East
and Africa (“EMEA”); and Asia Pacific Japan (“APJ”).
Founded in 1982, Symantec has operations in more than 48 countries and our principal executive offices are
located at 350 Ellis Street, Mountain View, California, 94043. Our telephone number at that location is
[phone]. Our home page on the Internet is www.symantec.com. Other than the information expressly
set forth in this annual report, the information contained, or referred to, on our website is not part of this annual
report.
Strategy
Symantec’s strategy is to enable our customers to secure and manage information and identities independent of
device or platform. We help individuals, small and medium-sized businesses (“SMB”), and global organizations
ensure that their information, technology infrastructures, and related processes are protected and managed easily.
We deliver solutions that allow customers to access information when they need it and make it available to all of
those who should have access to it. In addition to providing customers with traditional software solutions, we
continue to expand our Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) and appliance based offerings, giving customers’ choice as
to how our solutions are delivered and deployed.
Businesses are increasingly adopting cloud, virtualization, and mobile technologies to reduce the cost of their
IT infrastructures and enhance access to their information. By providing products and solutions that support the
adoption of these key technology trends, we are seeking to maintain our leadership position in helping businesses
secure and mange their information and identities. We have a broad portfolio of cloud based solutions and services,
from SaaS security to authentication services and online backup to cloud infrastructure management. These
products help organizations lower costs and simplify IT administration, while keeping their information and
identities secure. Organizations are adopting virtualization to reduce costs, enhance flexibility and build public and
private cloud infrastructures. As a result, their environments are becoming more complex and essential applications
and data may be left vulnerable to attack. Our solutions help these organizations secure, manage and optimize their
virtual environments from the datacenter to the endpoint. More and more mobile devices are being used both at
work and at home creating new security and management challenges. Our solutions manage and protect mobile
devices by enforcing data governance, increasing visibility across all mobile platforms and securing data for both
consumers and enterprises. We are focused on providing consumers the best online experience that allows them
access to information anytime, anywhere and from any device. Our consumer solutions take security beyond the PC
and extend trust to new devices and consumer applications, spanning across mobile, smart devices, and embedded
systems.
We operate primarily in three diversified markets within the software sector: security, backup and storage
management.
The security market includes mission-critical products that protect consumers and enterprises from threats to
electronic information, endpoint devices, and computer networks. The threat environment is rapidly changing.
Attackers have become highly sophisticated, primarily targeting information assets. Threats are increasingly
focused on stealing confidential information and identities for financial gain. The Internet has become the primary
conduit for attack activity, with hackers increasingly funneling threats through legitimate websites, placing a much
larger percentage of the population at risk than in the past. Data losses are not realized solely from external attacks
but are also administered by malicious, or even well-meaning, insiders. Proliferation of devices and information
growth is driving the need for a more comprehensive security framework that protects information and authenticates
users across multiple platforms and devices.
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