U.S. firm to open local office as software sales increase

Network Associates, a provider of network security technology, plans to set up an office in Poland during the first half of this year to take advantage of the growing corporate demand for anti-virus software, Wirk Römmelt, the firm's regional manager for Eastern Europe, said last week. The Santa Clara, California-based company has sold McAfee online security applications and Sniffer network monitoring technologies mainly to corporate clients in Poland through local partners for the last five years, Römmelt said. Now the company wants to focus on selling its products to small- and medium-sized businesses. Network Associates also plans to set up offices in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Anti-virus makers say that demand for their products in Poland has increased during the past few years. Magdalena Sawicka, the public relations director of Symantec Polska, said that during the next couple of years more international anti-virus software makers would likely set up offices here to meet growing demand. The U.S. Internet security software producer, which sells localized versions of its Norton anti-virus software in Poland, has seen its sales increase 33-35% each year for the last three or four years, she said. Network Associates' average revenue from sales in Poland nearly doubled in 2001 from about $200,000 per quarter in 2000, Römmelt said. This year the firm expects almost 100% revenue growth compared to 2001. Anti-virus software producers also noted the growth of retail sales of their products. Marketwide, sales to individual consumers are expected to hit $4 million-$4.5 million this year, Sawicka estimated. Marek Sell, an IT specialist and the owner of domestic anti-virus producer MKS, which sells security software mainly to business clients, said he has seen demand grow among individual consumers in the past two years as more computer users opt for legitimate versions of anti-virus software instead of the widely available pirated copies.