Symantec has outlined an information integrity strategy that users and analysts said addressed a growing need for a more holistic view of the operational and security risks that companies face.

But the analysts added that whether the new approach succeeds would depend on how well Symantec, which is primarily known for its antivirus tools and firewalls, could execute on its wider vision.

As part of the initiative, Symantec would deliver products and services designed to give companies a full assessment of the risks and vulnerabilities they faced and then enable them to act upon that information, the company's senior vice-president of security, Enrique Salem, said.

For instance, a new version of Symantec's Enterprise Security Manager software could help companies identify compliance problems related to regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley and Gramm-Leach-Bliley acts, Salem said.

Similarly, other products would let companies capture snapshots of the operational state of their servers, PCs, applications and operating systems, as well as information about their configuration settings and patch levels. Some of those capabilities were available now, but more would be added in the future.

"It's a model and a set of policies that CIOs can use to manage their environment," Salem said. "It stresses the concept of understanding your environment, acting on the information and controlling it."