CSO

Microsoft will soon start to sell a bundled package which includes their Office suite as well as Onecare security for $70 a year. Is this an indication of things to come? 

USA Today ran a story which described the new offering. "Subscription pricing for software has become commonplace in businesses but is a relatively new concept for consumers. The Microsoft Equipt bundle — formerly code-named "Albany" — includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, plus OneCare and a handful of existing free Windows Live applications."

Microsoft started offering OneCare in 2005, and this bundle offers security features such as WiFi security centralized backup, and hone network management.

No, I'm not being influenced (or paid) by Microsoft to push their products, but I do find this new apporach to be interesting for several reasons.

First, the pay as you go (annual fee) approach for antivirus and other security updates has been pretty common, but now security is getting bundled with other mainline products. This is new in the consumer space - at least for Microsoft.

Second, the pricing is going head to head with McAfee and Symantec and rolling in backup and other items on their security turf. Clearly Microsoft is trying to get more of that business.

Third,  it should give you the new functionality of future Office releases, and additional security as the product get upgrades, for one lower price - rather than continually adding new niche products.

Finally, security is being blended into this scene in an interesting way. Will cyber-historians point back to this day as the beginning of when security was just another function of the wider app picture? That is, will security stop being sold separately at some point. I know some say yes this will happen soon (not me), so this could be a turning point.   

The real question is: where is this trend going? Will consumers be offered one price for even bigger desktop bundles? (For example, throw in Vista and a few other goodies for say $99...)  My gut tells me yes, the future is in this direction. Don't be surprised if other vendors join in, especially with Google offering free apps and more to users.

With the consumerization of IT, this home PC trend will eventually impact businesses and governments as well - I just haven't totally figured out how yet. (Many governments already bundle solutions like this as part of Select or other agreements.) No doubt, teleworkers who use home PCs may want to take a good look.

Any theories on what this means to the future of security? Or, is this just another sales pitch?