For one man and the company that he works for, subject matters such as virus attacks, spam and other Internet security threats mean big business. As the country sales manager for Trend Micro Malaysia, Wong Joon Hoong has seen the revenue for the Malaysia office grow by 100 percent from 2001 to 2002, and by 50 percent from 2002 to 2003. And by the end of 2004, Wong expects to see yet another 50 percent revenue growth over last year.

Wong?s confidence is underlined by the fact that a recent IDC Malaysia report had indicated that Trend Micro Malaysia was the fastest growing software vendor in Malaysia in terms of revenue. The report noted that Trend Micro?s revenue grew 66 percent in the first quarter this year compared with the same period in 2003. Meanwhile, in the second quarter the company?s revenue grew by 100 percent over the same period last year.

According to Wong, such a target is achievable simply because the company?s solutions -- specifically, its Enterprise Protection Strategy (EPS) -- are effectively addressing the changing behaviour of network security threats.

?We are in the fourth (virus) generation -- the network virus,? says Wong. ?A network virus would need a network antivirus solution. In addition, users are beginning to realise that end-point solutions are no longer effective and that they need to address the entire outbreak lifecycle.?

As an analogy, Wong says that to address SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) the medical practitioners would need to analyse the biological virus, control the situation at the entry point, keep patients in quarantine, monitor their recovery, and so on. ?Thus, each point is very important and it?s the same for computer viruses, which is what EPS addresses,? he explains.

The rapid adoption of EPS amongst banks, telcos, government agencies, and other enterprises is propelling the growth in revenue for the company, says Wong. Furthermore, Trend Micro?s SMB product suite that was introduced slightly more than a year ago has also been well received amongst the local SMBs.

?The SMBs want the same protection as the larger enterprises but at a rate that?s more cost effective and simple to manage,? Wong says, noting also that the contribution from Trend Micro?s channel partners have been instrumental in helping the company extend its market share.

Wong also reveals that Malaysia is one of the top revenue contributors amongst other Asia South countries such as Brunei, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

?While virus threats are the same everywhere, companies here recognise the severity of today?s viruses and they want to make the right choice to ensure that their investment in antivirus solution is well spent,? he says.

At Trend Micro Malaysia, Wong oversees the company?s operations including sales, marketing, technical support, finance and human resources. Maintaining a lean team of nine, one would think that his staff are required to handle multiple roles but that?s not the case.

?There is no point in getting my staff to take on multiple roles or job scopes. We need people who are specialised in their own areas and can offer superb service to our customers as well as understand the market well,? he explains.

He recognises that his staff are important in helping the company grow. Thus, he ensures that his staff receive proper training to improve their technical, communications and leadership skills.

Wong?s career in the IT industry wasn?t something that he had initially planned for. He admitted that he would have been an accountant, had it not been for the advice from his college principal. In 1989, Wong was lining up with his friends to enrol for an accounting course when his college principal advised them that IT was the next wave.

?And that piece of advice changed my life altogether,? he says.

Wong worked his way up as a programmer to analyst programmer. After three years, he took on a network engineer role. In 1996, armed with the belief that the Internet would change the way people communicate and conduct business, he joined Internet startup Silicon Communications where he was put in charge of Internet security.

When the opportunity to join Trend Micro presented itself, Wong readily made the jump. It was a chance to further his career and also in line with his objective to work with a multinational company and his passion in Internet security, he says.

Wong, who is 34 and hails from Kuala Lumpur, has been in the IT industry for 14 years now and shows no signs of weariness. What keeps exhaustion at bay is his passion for his work. He believes that being passionate about his job has helped him achieve job satisfaction.

?We need to be zealous about what we do, otherwise we will experience burnout very soon,? says Wong. Yet, he also strives to strike a balance between work and rest, and tries to head home at 8.00pm everyday.

Although the entrepreneurship streak runs deep in the Wong family -- his parents have been operating a small tire trading business for 25 years, and a few other family members are business owners -- Wong is contented to remain as an employee and manage a company for someone else, at least for time being.

He sincerely believes that the future looks bright for Trend Micro for many years to come. ?There is still room to grow,? says Wong. ?The antivirus and Internet content security software market is still very nascent. I foresee strong and dynamic growth, and I?m very excited about that.?