Avast WEBforum
Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: The Sniggler on December 17, 2017, 06:10:21 PM
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Just discovered a Reuters article from November to the effect that Avast is planning to go public .
Did a search on the forum on this topic and found nothing surfaced.... has this been discussed? If not, Avast users, should be aware of the IPO.
Please see Reuters link below:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cvc-avast-ipo-exclusive/exclusive-avast-owners-hire-rothschild-for-4-billion-software-ipo-sources-idUSKBN1D715Y
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It has (though I haven't got a link), but as you have said it is planning, which isn't a 100% certainty. If you recall it was muted some time ago but that didn't happen.
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Yes, I remember their earlier attempt to go public, however could not find anything on this new move.
The Reuters article is excellent and gives a short, clear synopsis of Avast's ownership (an investment firm), structure, and direction.
I like the term "freemium" to describe the business model whereby the core service are free, but add-ons are at charge.
Interesting.
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Yes, once the money men get involved, they are looking for a return on their investment. For many that means going public to hopefully benefit from shares and share price.
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It is hard to fathom Avast could push its paid products even more aggressively than it already does. :o
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It is hard to fathom Avast could push its paid products even more aggressively than it already does. :o
Well when a company goes public, its shareholders (the big ones) are looking at the bottom line which could result in cost cutting and generating revenue streams. And you already have an idea of how that is working.
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That's what I'm worried about. Avast is probably already pushing hard to increase market value before going public, and the result is this stream of new 'features' foisted upon the user base, many only half tested or poorly thought out. So after the IPO we can expect this to be the new default. More bloat, more annoyances. I really might have to start looking for an alternative, for myself and all the machines of family and friends I manage. The days of a lean no frills AV seem to be gone forever. I really don't want to go through all that hassle, but it might ultimately be inevitable.
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It is hard to fathom Avast could push its paid products even more aggressively than it already does. :o
Well when a company goes public, its shareholders (the big ones) are looking at the bottom line which could result in cost cutting and generating revenue streams. And you already have an idea of how that is working.
That is basically a death of any company. You lose any shred of integrity and loyalty. It's then all down to money. And as we know, large amounts of money ruin everything. Always. Company can be moderately large, remain private and with loyal people who care about the integrity of company and its values. It may not make the most money in this world, but its employees are with the thing with their hearts and still paid very well. When you get this huge mass of everything from all sorts of sides, it just all goes to hell sooner or later. It just always ends this way and it feels bad knowing this means nothing good to our beloved product and company we've been with for over 10 years.
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Well I left A V G almost 14 years ago, now they are in the avast software group also, along with a slew of other companies.
I do worry about how Avast will go forward if IPO comes off - but one thing for sure, people will vote with their feet if it takes an even greater turn. There are only so many ads/promotions being force fed/rammed down their throats before they are sick of it.
Avast used to be unique amongst other AV, but many of the things that mad it stand out from the mob have been removed. Things that might have been considered trivial are gone only to be replaced with things that really shouldn't be in a security related product.
For almost all of my time using computers I have kept away from Software Suites as I have followed the 'Jack of all trades Master of none' way of thinking.
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This news explains the change in Avast over the past few years... It is important to keep in mind that private companies are run for the benefit of ownership; public companies for the benefit of management - shareholders and boards of directors are necessary evils. Bond finance is preferred method of raising capital as debt avoids shareholders...some public firms do retain integrity of product etc, many do not. So after years of using Avast, I have reluctantly been exploring alternatives, sorry to say.
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Guys... not sure why some of you think we might change our strategy. You can trust us that whatever we do, our top priority continues to be to beat the bad guys and keep the Avast community protected. And, talking about the toasters and other promotions, we do hear you – and in fact, we've already cut back quite a bit on those compared to the situation 1-2 years ago, and we're continuing to work to keep them at a reasonable level.
Thanks
Vlk
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Guys... not sure why some of you think we might change our strategy. You can trust us that whatever we do, our top priority continues to be to beat the bad guys and keep the Avast community protected. And, talking about the toasters and other promotions, we do hear you – and in fact, we've already cut back quite a bit on those compared to the situation 1-2 years ago, and we're continuing to work to keep them at a reasonable level.
Thanks
Vlk
Because we've already observed a dramatic shift in ways how you do business after you guys got people from outside onboard. That's why. And let me just tell you, the shift isn't to the positive direction. Unfortunately.
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Most public firms, not all, but most, must cater to the quarterly income results and EPS expectations of Wall St. analysts and fund owners.
Except under an exceptional management which views their position as a stewardship "corporatization" results in the death of innovation and a constant reinvention of the wheel.
I believe I read somewhere on an Avast screen that certain infections will require payment to remove - not sure.
The other company I worry about is Mozilla... Firefox ain't what it used to be.
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I believe I read somewhere on an Avast screen that certain infections will require payment to remove - not sure.
Probably related to one of the extra programs they want you to buy :P
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Guys... not sure why some of you think we might change our strategy.
Hello Vlk,
in my view it's not a problem of change your strategy but the actual strategy itself.
Some times ago (october I think) Avast Uninstall Utility changed my boot-code so that my computer always starts in safe mode, even when I went back to a clean image. It took my a lot of time to help myself with BDCedit.
No help from Avast people.
That's the status of Avast before investors are going to tell your goals ...
And the often upcoming messages about the need of clearing my desktop from hundreds or thousands of questionable components cannot convince me really. It's just humbug...
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And, talking about the toasters and other promotions, we do hear you – and in fact, we've already cut back quite a bit on those compared to the situation 1-2 years ago, and we're continuing to work to keep them at a reasonable level.
You think having a screen, needing about half a dozen clicks to navigate through to decline an upgrade 'offer', pop up at boot for three consecutive days, is reasonable? On machines that already had Avast Free installed for years no less?
Your definition of reasonable differs from mine. A lot. And it is that sort of stunt that has me wondering if Avast is still right for me and my family. I feel almost bullied into installing a trial 'upgrade'. That does not make me want to keep using your product.
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Also: I understand that Avast is a for profit business. That doesn't however mean that every Avast Free user is a potential customer. I think it is important to state that clearly. Some people just want a basic AV. Adding a ton of (sometimes buggy) features, and then pushing those hard, does nothing to entice someone that isn't looking for all that excess bloat. That doesn't win them over. Would you expect them to pay for functionality they will never use? They are content with the free version, because it does what they want it to do and nothing much more. And they would be fine if it was stripped from everything but shields. The very core essence of a traditional AV. And for that they oblige to view an occasional promotional offer, as long as it isn't overly intrusive. Sadly, Avast Free is moving further and further away from that basic concept with every new release, and from what I gather the paid versions do not fare any better. No doubt precisely because priorities seem to lie more and more with generating revenue, even if that comes at the expense of user satisfaction.
If you want to sell me software, build me a bare bones, fast, solid, reliable AV with great support. Call it Avast Core, or something. Price it reasonably and I might actually consider it, and recommend it to others.
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Guys... not sure why some of you think we might change our strategy. You can trust us that whatever we do, our top priority continues to be to beat the bad guys and keep the Avast community protected. And, talking about the toasters and other promotions, we do hear you – and in fact, we've already cut back quite a bit on those compared to the situation 1-2 years ago, and we're continuing to work to keep them at a reasonable level.
Thanks
Vlk
Because we've already observed a dramatic shift in ways how you do business after you guys got people from outside onboard. That's why. And let me just tell you, the shift isn't to the positive direction. Unfortunately.
The thing that really made my stomach turn was seeing "You've got X number of problems with your system! Clean it now!" Then when you run a scan it says "found 2 issues. click here to fix them". Both issues being benign and completely acceptable for any system. Blatant lying and click-bait to sell a product. Even when we're already paying for it!