Available for free for SMBs with upto 10 PCs.
Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. on Friday announced the availability of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) for Small businesses with up to 10 PCs in Gujarat. Available free, MSE is a simple to use and comprehensive solution that provides real-time protection to address the ongoing security needs of an original Windows PC, helping to protect it from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats.
Moreover, to enable businesses to easily access and benefit from MSE, Microsoft has partnered with HP to pre-install the offering on the HP Envy series notebooks.
"The Indian SMB segment is growing at a break neck pace and is emerging as a key growth driver for the IT industry. For these businesses, managing IT security at a low cost is a key priority. We are excited to extend the benefits of MSE - a hassle free, non-intrusive, no-cost security solution protection - to the Indian small business community. We see this as a win-win solution that is that is easy to get and easy to use and will add to our customers' overall success," said Pankaj Ukey, director - Windows Client, Consumer and Online Business, Microsoft India.
Already launched for the consumer segment in 2009, over 30 million customers in 74 different countries have been using MSE with successful detection of nearly 400 million threats over the past one year. Available on all original Windows PC, MSE provides a no-cost security solution that helps SMBs to save money and run their business without any interruptions. Already, over 5500 businesses across India have deployed Windows 7 and are realizing significant cost savings and productivity benefits; of these 2100 are SMBs. Now, with MSE, SMBs can save even more, up to Rs 7,500 on lifetime antivirus, said Ukey.
According to Ukey, SMBs in India will be investing around $1.26 billion (Rs 6,000 crore approx.) in security related software this year, wherein the market is growing at 35-40 per cent per annum. Moreover, the penetration of internet-enabled SMBs is growing to 60 per cent in small businesses and 96 per cent in medium businesses owning PCs but increasing cyber threats continue to be one of the major concerns for SMBs.
Quoting a study by AMI Partners, Ukey said that 73 per cent small businesses faced security breaches or data loses this year accounting to a loss of $1,174 million. "While medium businesses were even worse hit with 91 per cent facing security breaches/ data loses accounting to $55 million of loses. Hence, MSE is the need of the hour. An excellent solution for small businesses, MSE has been built to respond to the growing and changing threat landscape and helps to break down the barriers to real time protection from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats. The result is hassle free security that SMBs can trust," he added.HP Envy series notebooks, on the other hand, are available for around Rs 65,000, said Ukey. Meanwhile, MSE is available for free download from Microsoft's website.