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McAfee takes 'webtop' look
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May 11, 2000: 5:38 p.m. ET
Redesign of site emphasizes online applications, targets small business
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - McAfee.com, the software company best known for its anti-virus program, unveiled a redesigned Web site Wednesday as it positions itself as an "application service provider" targeting the 7 million small businesses in the United States.
"We want to enable a very secure, Net-centric computer environment for consumers and small business," said Srivats Sampath, president and chief executive of Santa Clara, Calif.-based McAfee.com (MCAF: Research, Estimates).
Sampath offered a vision of a future in which a business person could create new work documents in the office, store them securely on a remote computer server, then get back into the files from home after dinner -- all without downloading the materials to floppy disks and carrying them around.
 This kind of service is growing in popularity as faster Internet connections and rapidly evolving computer technologies combine to promote the ASP business model, allowing customers to outsource their software by "renting" computer applications rather than buying them.
McAfee had been moving toward an ASP model even before its initial public offering of stock last December, and Sampath said the company topped 350,000 paid subscribers in the first quarter.
Beyond the 'clinic'
To date, the firm's primary online application has been its "clinic," which offers virus protection as well as an "oil change" service and various online diagnostic tools enabling a user to look under the hood of a PC.
"We are planning to launch a complete series of applications services for small business," Sampath promised, saying those services would be available in the July quarter without saying what they would be.
On Wednesday, the company's big move was to introduce its "web top" technology, using dynamic HTML to give its Web site the look and feel of a Windows-like environment with multiple windows and icons, rather than the customary sheaf of linked Web pages.
The online desktop includes icons for some of McAfee's ASP partners, such as OpenAir, which provides time-tracking services, and the online file-storage firm Driveway.com.
As for the timing of the launch, Sampath said McAfee actually delayed the introduction of the new site, which had been planned for Monday, because of the flood of traffic as users sought protection from the "love bug" virus. 
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