Bitdefender is currently not seeing enough demand for a Windows Marketplace app of its Total Security product.
Although Windows 8 has been on the market since late 2012, online threats researcher, Andrei Serbanoiu, said there is still not enough market interest to justify the development of a Windows Marketplace app.
“We could have a Metro-style edition of Total Security, but the uptake in this category is still very low,” he said.
Serbanoiu compares the adoption of Windows 8 to Microsoft’s own Windows Phone ecosystem, which he also said is too low to justify any dedicated development by the security vendor.
Besides Windows 8 on PC, the OS has been gaining some market traction in recent months with Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet.
Serbanoiu admits the Surface Pro is experiencing market hype at the moment, but Bitdefender needs to see the figures before developing a Windows Marketplace app.
He estimates six months of development is required to put Total Security on Microsoft's online store, and the effort would not be limited just to the engineering work.
“You also need to get approved by Microsoft, and they send you back to school for every little mistake,” Serbanoiu said.
Never say never
If there is enough demand, Bitdefender has the capability to create a Windows Marketplace version of its security product.
“It is absolutely doable, but we first need to figure out if there is a solid need for it, or we would be creating it for the sake of doing it,” Serbanoiu said.
“Our customers are paying us to protect the data and easily use our products, so we want to stay focused on this.”
While Surface Pro is growing in appeal among consumers, Serbanoiu said its high retail price is holding back mass market adoption.
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“There are early adopters that love them, but core consumers still prefer traditional notebooks and mainstream tablets,” he said.
Even so, the Surface Pro is significant enough for Bitdefender that it is one of the hundreds of devices the security company uses to test its products with.
“Not only do we have the Surface Pro, but also next generation of hardware from vendors such as Intel,” Serbanoiu said.
He adds that Bitdefender’s test lab in Northeastern Romania has a room with 800 smartphones.
While this year’s edition of Total Security is not available on Windows Marketplace, it comes with a “simpler and cleaner” desktop interface that borrows elements from Microsoft’s design language.
Patrick Budmar covers consumer and enterprise technology breaking news for IDG Communications. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_budmar.
