Security software vendor McAfee extended its managed
security services this week with an offering of carrier-grade products.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm announced the program, dubbed McAfee
Clean Pipes, as part of an initiative to provide McAfee technology to
Internet Service Providers (ISP) to help offer data and infrastructure
security services to customers.
The initiatives will allow ISPs to offer their customers a “value-added
service intended to stop the latest security threats” before they can impact
networks, computing infrastructures or mobile devices, according to the
company.
Vatsal Sonecha, vice-president of market development and strategic alliances
at McAfee, said the initial portfolio of McAfee-enabled managed security
services will consist of Intrusion Prevention, Secure Content Management,
Vulnerability Management and Managed Anti-Malware, and Mobile Device
Security.
“Service providers will be able to deliver these services individually or
as a bundle to meet the unique needs of their end customers,” he said.
As a managed security service, the initiative is part of a bigger product
push from McAfee in an effort to sell platforms that service providers can
install at their customers’ sites and manage remotely.
Developing a next
generation of carrier-grade security appliances and ramping up its
enterprise security offerings is now a priority, Sunil Chhabra, senior
service provider solutions manager at McAfee, said.
The new products will let the service provider offer the same security
services, but as a hosted service from their own data centers, according to
Chhabra.
These services will address customers ranging from large scale enterprises
to small mad medium businesses to consumers, he said.
Sonecha cited several analyst forecasts that the managed security service
sector will be a $3 to $5 billion market by 2008.
Clean Pipes is expected to help McAfee jump right in to the managed services
game. The company intends to sell managed intrusion prevention, secure
content management, vulnerability management malware protection, including
anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-spyware services, and mobile device security,
available immediately.
Service providers will run the secure operations centers, customer
relationships, billing and other infrastructure for the new services. McAfee
will provide an integrated technology suite and a unified management
architecture, as well as R&D expertise, Sonecha said.
McAfee is working with Cable and Wireless PLC, British
Telecommunications, Telefónica SA and China Network Communications.
McAfee is hardly the first company to jump on the managed security services
bandwagon. Big players already include Cisco Systems, Nortel
Networks and Check Point.
