McAfee, Symantec Prepare for Next Battle

Investors have also been favoring McAfee this year. Its stock is up nearly 22% this year while Symantec is down 9%.

That's why Symantec, which has long been knocked for its inability to integrate its various acquisitions closely and simplify operations for security managers, is taking a shot at the market with its own offering, Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0.

The software, also known as Project Hamlet, will bring together technologies from Symantec's acquisitions from the last two years -- including its purchase of WholeSecurity, Veritas and Sygate -- and meld components such as antivirus, network intrusion prevention, firewall and compliance-related products into a single package.

Still, given McAfee's lead, Symantec's offering may not be enough to get customers to choose it over its rivals, says Selby.

However, Symantec has created a strategy to get ahead. The company is planning to give its existing customers who use its enterprise antivirus and firewall protection software a free upgrade to its latest product.

"We are not just bringing the idea of a centralized console to customers but we are including all the latest technologies in a single product so customers don't have to spend extra money to buy the bells and whistles they need," says C. J. Desai, senior director of endpoint security for Symantec.

Shares of Symantec were recently off 11 cents to $19.55; McAfee was off 27 cents, or 0.8%, to $35.48.