Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Strategy & Execution
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry
Color case includes color exhibits. To maximize their effectiveness, color cases and exhibits should be printed in color.Symantec and McAfee hold 53.6% and 18.8% respectively, of the antivirus software market as of 2006. While the market is concentrated with five firms controlling over 90%, Microsoft is on the eve of releasing a consumer security subscription packed called OneCare Live. Other changes in the industry are also afoot--McAfee has switched its focus to distribute antivirus subscriptions through Internet Service Providers.
Authors :: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jordan Mitchell
Swot Analysis of "Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry" written by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jordan Mitchell includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Mcafee Antivirus facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Decision making and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry casestudy better are - – increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, wage bills are increasing, increasing transportation and logistics costs,
increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Mcafee Antivirus, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Mcafee Antivirus operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Mcafee Antivirus
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Mcafee Antivirus
Strengths Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Mcafee Antivirus in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Mcafee Antivirus to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Mcafee Antivirus to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Training and development
– Mcafee Antivirus has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Mcafee Antivirus is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Mcafee Antivirus has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Mcafee Antivirus has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Mcafee Antivirus is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Organizational Resilience of Mcafee Antivirus
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Mcafee Antivirus does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Strong track record of project management
– Mcafee Antivirus is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– Mcafee Antivirus is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Learning organization
- Mcafee Antivirus is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Mcafee Antivirus is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Mcafee Antivirus has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Analytics focus
– Mcafee Antivirus is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jordan Mitchell can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Mcafee Antivirus is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Mcafee Antivirus in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry are -
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry HBR case study mentions - Mcafee Antivirus takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Mcafee Antivirus has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Mcafee Antivirus needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Lack of clear differentiation of Mcafee Antivirus products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Mcafee Antivirus needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Mcafee Antivirus has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry, is just above the industry average. Mcafee Antivirus needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jordan Mitchell suggests that, Mcafee Antivirus is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Mcafee Antivirus has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Mcafee Antivirus even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry, in the dynamic environment Mcafee Antivirus has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Mcafee Antivirus has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Mcafee Antivirus 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Mcafee Antivirus has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Mcafee Antivirus can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Mcafee Antivirus to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Mcafee Antivirus can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Mcafee Antivirus has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Mcafee Antivirus to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry case study. Mcafee Antivirus can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Mcafee Antivirus can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Mcafee Antivirus has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Mcafee Antivirus to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Mcafee Antivirus can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Mcafee Antivirus operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Mcafee Antivirus is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Mcafee Antivirus can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Buying journey improvements
– Mcafee Antivirus can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Loyalty marketing
– Mcafee Antivirus has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Mcafee Antivirus to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Mcafee Antivirus to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Strategy & Execution industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Mcafee Antivirus can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Mcafee Antivirus can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Threats Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry are -
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry, Mcafee Antivirus may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Strategy & Execution .
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Mcafee Antivirus business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Mcafee Antivirus has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Strategy & Execution industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Mcafee Antivirus needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Strategy & Execution sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Regulatory challenges
– Mcafee Antivirus needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Strategy & Execution industry regulations.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Mcafee Antivirus in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Mcafee Antivirus needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Increasing wage structure of Mcafee Antivirus
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Mcafee Antivirus.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Mcafee Antivirus high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Mcafee Antivirus can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Mcafee Antivirus can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry .
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Mcafee Antivirus is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Mcafee Antivirus will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Environmental challenges
– Mcafee Antivirus needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Mcafee Antivirus can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Symantec vs. McAfee: Competing in the Consumer Anti-Virus Industry is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Mcafee Antivirus needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
