STAMFORD, Conn. – Talk about a shakeout. Gartner Inc., the global technology consulting firm, expects the field of approximately 40 enterprise spam-filter vendors to shrink to less than 10 by the end of this year. So, what should the credit union manager responsible for managing spam, and the relationship with the anti-spam vendor, do when it comes contract time? Gartner research director Arabella Hallawell said there are steps that can help make selection and signing less risky. For example, a credit union can request protection clauses in the event a vendor is acquired. Shorter-term contracts also are preferable, Hallawell said. Also, "consider a vendor's core business fundamentals," she said. "A quality installed base also indicates sufficient strength to mitigate short-term vendor risks." Driving the consolidation are fast-changing market dynamics and the inability of many vendors to truly be able to deliver best-of-breed functionality needed to fight spam, Gartner researchers said they found. Gartner said its clients report that 60% to 75% of incoming e-mail is spam, which now constitutes a malicious code and fraud threat as well as storage and cost problems.