German medium businesses sent $390 mln on anti-virus and anti-spam in 2004

Midsize firms in Germany spent nearly $390 mln over the past 12 months on anti-virus and anti-spam software, intrusion detection programs, firewalls, and other IT security measures. Over two thirds of Germany MBs with LANs have deployed a VPN, and another 18% are planning to do so in the next 12 months.

Average annual revenues for Germany's 27,266 medium businesses are $56.83 mln, with B2B sales accounting for 60%. Nearly half (46%) of Germany MBs have more than one branch office, and an additional 13% plan to open more branches in the next 12 months. This will undoubtedly fuel the deployment of additional VPNs. Along with security, ERP and OS standardization, Germany MBs place data back-up/recovery and IT staff training at the top of their list of IT concerns.