Its revenue was a record US$50.4 million, an increase of 15 per cent from the second quarter last year. Impressive.

CEO Gene Hodges said the company's international performance remained strong with more than 700 new value-added resellers having signed on and that the company enjoyed a strong showing in the SME sector.

Websense protects more than 25 million employees from external and internal computer security threats using a combination of pre-emptive malicious content identification, categorisation technology and information leak prevention technology.

Distributed through its global network of channel partners, the software helps organisations block malicious code, prevent the loss of confidential information and manage internet and wireless access.

I've kept an eye on Websense ever since 2000. I started tracking it then because I was part of the agency team that handled the US PR for its main competitor, SurfControl plc. It was an exciting time to be involved in internet content management.

The market was just starting to consolidate with a number of single-product companies marrying up. SurfControl snapped up both SuperScout and CyberPatrol. SuperScout had a set of great features for the corporate world, and the CyberPatrol brand was huge in schools and homes.

Also it was at that time the email spam and pop-ups started to raise their ugly heads in the online world. The market was crying out for solutions to deal with the menace and both Websense and SurfControl were happy to oblige.

It was my job to make sure SurfControl was mentioned whenever internet nuisances such as spam and pop-up windows were covered in the media and we bumped into Websense quite a bit. So it was with interest I read a few weeks ago that the two companies are now becoming one.

The deal was announced in late April and was cleared by US regulatory authorities in early June and by the UK Office of Fair Trading earlier this month. The expected effective date and closing of the deal is October 3.

The acquisition will deliver market dominance to Websense. In 2006, technology analyst IDC said that Websense already held 28 per cent of the market; it gave SurfControl 23 per cent. So it's clear that many of us will soon be using Websense. And, not happy just to rest on its laurels, Websense's product development team continues to innovate.

For example, a new version of its Content Protection Suite was recently introduced. It integrates document fingerprinting capabilities with a database of malicious URLs to become the only security software to allow companies to create policies based on internal documents, user information and external website classifications to prevent leaks of confidential data.

And for SMEs there is Websense Express Web security and content filtering which uses Websense's full URL database to deliver enterprise-class web security, but with simplified features, installation and management appropriate for smaller organisations.

Of course as big as Websense has become, it is not alone in the market and is actually relatively small in the context of the anti-virus sector. Symantec Corporation, McAfee and Trend Micro are the three biggies, the smallest of them turning over more than US $800m. So Websense still has its work cut out.

Funnily enough, even though it's been a couple of years, I still feel loyal to SurfControl. I'll continue to keep a watch over Websense, but I have to admit, having worked on the SurfControl account, it seems a bit like rooting for the enemy.



>>Sherrilynne Starkie is the managing partner of Strive Public Relations, a communications consultancy serving the Isle of Man. She provides her views on business and technology each week in Tech Talk. Visit her business blog Strive Notes for frequent updates.www.strivepr.com