NetScreen turns up trumps

Three separate reports place vendor close behind security market leaders

Security appliance vendor NetScreen is hot on the heels of security market leaders Cisco and Check Point, according to reports from three separate analysts.

The vendor, which operates a 100 per cent channel model in Europe, has seen its turnover increase from $85.6m in 2001 to $138.5m in 2002.

IDC placed NetScreen second only to Cisco in its Quarterly Security Server Appliance Tracker report.

According to the analyst, worldwide security appliance revenue totalled $316m in the first quarter of 2003, down six per cent on the same quarter in 2002. Unit shipments increased by 17 per cent.

Charles Kolodgy, research director at IDC's security products service, said this was due to a number of factors, including "increased price pressure in the market and a weaker US dollar".

IDC claimed NetScreen has bucked the trend, with 86.6 per cent growth in turnover and 14.4 per cent market share for Q1, compared with Cisco, whose turnover fell by 19.4 per cent.

Infonetics Research's VPN and Firewall Products, Quarterly Worldwide Market Share and Forecasts for Q1 2003 report gave NetScreen top ranking for high-end device market share.

It also moved into second place in the mid-range category and came third in the worldwide VPN and firewall appliance hardware and software market share category.

Finally, according to Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Firewalls report, NetScreen has raced ahead of Check Point and Cisco in terms of introducing protection on a short product cycle.

Peter Crowcombe, marketing manager at NetScreen, said: "We have seen a huge increase in the number of topline channel partners coming on board and either leading with our product or having it as a primary offering in their portfolios.

"We have moved towards greater channel penetration in the past two years. To have our position verified by three independent analysts shows we are doing something right."