Thanks for the good interview @Atte_Riikola
I’m still on the cautious side myself. I don’t see the product quality as being better than competitors, and I’m not quite sure I understand the potential competitive advantage brought by the chosen strategy. After all, there have been a few years of weak stock performance and expectations have been raised before.
On a general level regarding that interview, can anyone estimate what the market potential is for, say, the (signed) Tier 1 client relationship mentioned in the interview?
Reasons why I am cautious:
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Qualitatively, I see little difference between the quality of F-Secure’s products and those of its competitors. I would guess that F-Secure is better on Windows devices, but partly weaker than competitors on Apple devices and mobile. The password app is the weakest, quite “stone-age”, the VPN is okay, the security side is likely good, and being European is definitely a plus. In terms of reputation or capability, I don’t recognize any unique competitive advantage.
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The idea of Total back in the day was likely that you buy one product and use it to protect computers, tablets, phones, and even IoT (Sense). This also seems to be quite central to competitors’ offerings. The idea that in the future, one would buy a separate security app for their phone, computer, TV, and sports watch through the device manufacturer or operator fits quite poorly with this. Maybe it could go that way, but as long as there is a single security app and password bank that works seamlessly cross-platform, it’s hard to see how such a strategy could gain a broader foothold.
Just as a practical example as a Total user – I don’t want an Elisa subscription with forced security features. Why would I pay twice when I’m already paying? I understand, of course, that there might be scam call blocking or other additional features, but from a market perspective, that sounds a bit like only heads of state or doomsday preppers are in the market for building such a digital bunker. For the average Joe, it sounds like overkill.
My own view is that the cybersecurity market is consolidating and multi-platform comprehensive solutions for consumers, like Total, are the future winners. Therefore, it is concerning that it doesn’t really seem to have a future in the company’s strategy – it’s mainly something used to generate cash flow for debt repayment and for building the Tier 1 partner market.
As an investor, I wonder whether F-Secure intends to sell directly to consumers via Tier 1 partners (the signed agreement mentioned in the interview), through partnerships where the operator automatically bundles the solution into its product (the upcoming agreement), or purely by improving the security level of Tier 1 partners, where the partner benefit comes, for example, from operator customers receiving less scams and spam, and the operator/manufacturer consequently having less mess and issues to resolve in customer service?