Though computer anti-virus is an essential ingredient, there is no survey on it. Most say that more than half of the market is occupied by Kaspersky and local anti-virus, REVE. The local one is also being exported to 12 countries. Currently, the available anti-virus in the market is: Kaspersky, Defender, E-set, E-scan, Panda, Trend Micro and Mcafee.
Many anti-virus available before are no longer available. Market is dominated by Kaspersky, with 70 per cent domination. The sole distributor of Kaspersky is Smart Technologies and its head of business, Mirsad Hossain, says: “The success of Kaspersky is 99 percent with a 34 to 38 thousand sales per month.”
Many computer buyers are not aware of anti-virus and they have to be told, he commented, adding: “Anti-virus is a push product and sellers had to force buyers to purchase them.”
Most people plus institutions do not have separate budget for anti-virus, which is unfortunate.
President of the Bangladesh Computer Samity, Md. Shahid Ul Huq Munir, said: “We should promote the local anti-virus which is meeting local demand and is exported outside. This will bring plaudits for the country.”
Once people know, others will be encouraged to invest in this sector. REVE, made in Bangladesh, is exported to 12 countries but is used in 50 countries.
REVE also has a well-known place in the Indian market.
Claiming that REVE’s virus killing ability is 96-99 percent, REVE group’s deputy DG, Ibnul Karim, said: “No anti-virus can give 100 per cent success; thousands of virus are created every day.”