Netscreen acquires OneSecure for $40.3m

Resellers set to benefit from deal

Resellers could be set to benefit from firewall vendor Netscreen's $40.3m acquisition of intrusion detection appliance company OneSecure.

The deal, which is expected to be completed within the next 30 days, will see Netscreen make OneSecure's product available to its own customers and channel partners worldwide.

From next year Netscreen also plans to use the OneSecure intrusion detection technology in its own firewall appliances as part of an integrated security gateway.

"Initially the products will be separate and in time OneSecure will be integrated into our appliances," said Peter Crowcombe, marketing manager at Netscreen.

"It will add the intrusion detection aspect of the security mix in one platform," he added.

Crowcombe said the deal would open up more opportunities for Netscreen resellers which will now be able to offer a more complete and easier to deploy security appliance.

"Very large companies have the ability to employ armies of people to integrate these but as you introduce them further down the scale the less complex they are and the easier they are to deploy, the better it is for resellers."

Netscreen Distributor EquIP said the deal demonstrated the growth in demand for intrusion detection and would give its resellers a competitive edge with an expanded security offering.

"It is fairly natural progress to take the leading firewall vendor and add the best level of intrusion detection. That will be very strong in the market," said Graham Smee, sales director at EquIP.

EquIP has only just signed an exclusive UK distribution deal with OneSecure to stock, promote and support its Intrusion Detection and Prevention appliance.

Smee said EquIP has briefed around 30 resellers on the product already and that there will be meetings over the next few days to discuss the impact of the acquisition on that deal.

The intrusion detection market will be worth $1bn by 2005, according to researcher IDC.