ConSentry issues warning to Cisco
Vendor encourages its channel partners to aggressively pursue networking giant's contracts
Tom Barsi, chief executive of secure networking vendor ConSentry, has issued a challenge to rival Cisco, as his firm focuses on gaining market share.
Tom Barsi told CRN ConSentry, which launched in the UK last year and claimed it had identified a $17bn niche market (CRN, 3 October), is encouraging its channel to “attack” Cisco customers.
“There has been little innovation from Cisco in the past 10 years. We are signing up resellers that also partner with our competitors, such as Cisco, Alcatel and Nortel. Cisco is over-distributed and we see our technology as a way for our partners to attack Cisco accounts,” he said.
Barsi added that ConSentry, which specialises in securing LANs, with its LANShield operating software, is focusing on a select number of partners in the UK.
“We are focusing on a smaller, lighter set of VARs, instead of haphazardly signing up resellers,” he said.
Barsi said the firm has an advantage over Cisco because its software allows partners to upgrade their existing networking infrastructure to Cisco’s Network Admission Control (NAC) framework, without having to undergo a costly and lengthy “rip and replace” process of switching infrastructure or software.
Faizel Lakhani, vice-president of marketing at ConSentry, said: “NAC is only one piece of a LAN security strategy, post admission controls are even more crucial. Our Secure LAN Controller integrates multiple security services into a simple-to-deploy platform.”
Grahame Smee, managing director of equIP, ConSentry’s master UK distributor, said: “Our ConSentry business is going very well. It is definitely starting to gather pace.”
Cisco declined to comment at the time of going to press.