In an effort to help the channel better address email and messaging security threats, Crossbeam Systems Inc., and endpoint security and antimalware company Sophos Inc. have announced a partnership that will allow Crossbeam's X-Series platform customers to run Sophos's email security gateway software Sophos PureMessage.
Requires Membership to View
To gain access to this and all member only content, please provide the following information:
By submitting your registration information to SearchSecurityChannel.com you agree to receive email communications from the TechTarget network of sites, and/or third party content providers that have relationships with TechTarget, based on your topic interests and activity, including updates on new content, event notifications, new site launches and market research surveys. Please verify all information and selections above. You may unsubscribe at any time from one or more of the services you have selected by editing your profile, unsubscribing via email or by contacting us here
- Your use of SearchSecurityChannel.com is governed by our Terms of Use
- We designed our Privacy Policy to provide you with important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. We encourage you to read the Privacy Policy, and to use it to help make informed decisions.
- If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
 |
||||
|
|
|||
|
||||
Sophos Inc., headquartered in Boston and Oxford, U.K., joins a list of security vendors whose software is certified to run on the X-Series: Check Point, IBM, Imperva Inc., Sourcefire, Trend Micro Inc. and Websense Inc.
Crossbeam's chief marketing officer Jim Freeze said the Sophos messaging product filled a gap in its platform offerings. "One of the things we've heard from customers," which include large enterprise carriers and cloud security service providers, "is the areas in which they want us to focus on, in terms of looking for new security applications, is messaging solutions," he said.
Freeze said Crossbeam's X-Series platform and Sophos' PureMessage appliance will be appealing to managed security service providers who need high-availability and throughput. "About 40% of our revenue comes from large carriers who need scalability and are looking for more applications like what Sophos can bring to bear."
Sophos PureMessage, backed by the global network SophosLabs, scans inbound, outbound and internal mail, blocking Web-based attacks with antispam updates. The integration, according to Sophos v.p. of global OEM & strategic alliances Mike Rogers, will provide relief for large enterprises, services providers and other organizations with complex email structures, including universities.
"Imagine a university," said Rogers, citing that Sophos products are used by a majority of Ivy League schools. "This solution will take very well in that space on a Crossbeam blade because the administrator is going to be able to set policy in a highly scalable environment that provides restriction on, for instance, email that would be different from that of their professors."
Rogers also saw the opportunity for the channel, as Sophos enters the carrier market and Crossbeam increases its offerings of messaging security options. The upshot for solution providers should make it easier to close deals thanks to improved technical assurance, field support and inside sales support from the combined Sophos and Crossbeam teams, as well as increased marketing and program management support.
Rogers said Sophos is rolling out an execution plan globally in concert with Crossbeam to ensure there is appropriate mapping between the two channel programs.
"I think there's an opportunity for some cross-pollination between our two customer bases," Rogers said.
Sophos has a 100% channel model and although Crossbeam has a direct and channel model, the two companies have a healthy number of overlapping channel partners, according to Rogers. All of the sales fulfillment will go through Crossbeam's and Sophos' partners.
Certification of Sophos PureMessage on the X-Series security platform will be completed by Q3 2010.
Send comments on this technical tip editor@searchsecuritychannel.com.
Join us on LinkedIn.