ANTenna Blog -- Security

Symantec used this weeks RSA convention to roll out a pair of new security products aimed at small and midsize companies. The Symantec Protection Suite combines endpoint and messaging protection with data recovery to create a layered approach to security, while the Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition is designed to make SMB security easy to install and manage.

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According to Joan Fazio, Director, Security Product Marketing for Symantec, many small businesses don't have the IT resources to deal with enterprise level security, so Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition is designed to be deployed in just 20 minutes, with minimal configuration required. Choosing among detailed policies, dashboards, reports, and summaries took too much time, Fazio said. Those advanced configuration options are still available, Fazio adds, but preconfigured security policies and reports mean they are no longer required to get started. The changes cut installation time in half to less than 20 minutes, she claimed.

The Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition has a simplified dashboard.

In addition, Symantec has simplified product licensing for small businesses, with automatic reminders and notifications. Blake McConnell, Sr. Director, Security Product Management called the product's pricing, "aggressive:"

But McConnell said these list prices don't reflect what small businesses will actually pay. Street pricing for competitive upgrades will be cheaper than competitors, he said, while new purchases will carry a slight premium compared to competitors.

Just as important, the company claims that Symantec Endpoint Protection SmallBusiness Edition will have a minimal effect on peformance:

The Symantec Protection Suite, meanwhile, comes in two versions. The Small Business Edition is targeted at companies with between 10 and 99 employees, while the Enterprise Edition is aimed at companies with more than 100 employees.

The Small Business Edition includes the new Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition 12.0, Symantec AntiVirus for Mac, Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange, Symantec Premium AntiSpam, and Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery Desktop Edition.

The Enterprise Edition adds more platforms (Mac, Linux and Windows Mobile), as well as Symantec's new Network Access Control Self Enforcement, which offers "a very simple starting point for network access control," Fazio said. Symantec's resellers can add more robut access control capabilites as required. For messaging security, the enterprise version adds coverage for Brightmail Gateway and Lotus Domino.

Fazio said the suites cost less than buying the individual components, and offer companies a single point of contact for help and support.

Fazio says competing suites do not include backup and restore functionality, which uses "snapshot" approach to save an image of the entire client hard drive (or of selected files). as well as the company's market leading Network Access Control capability.

All the products are scheduled to ship in May.

Symantec says the security market is moving toward suites and away from standalone products. So far so good. But if you ask me, the bigger trend is away from products at all and toward Security as a Service. Fazio replied that Security as a Service "is a significant trend, but the thre froth is not boiling over yet. Symantec is taking a fast forward approach to see what is working and not working, so when we come into the market we will have a truly differentiated offering."

I'm certainly interested in learning more about that!

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