Watchguard extends deal with Ingram UK
Internet security provider Watchguard Technologies has signed a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro UK for its range of firewall products and services.
Internet security provider Watchguard Technologies has signed a distribution agreement with Ingram Micro UK for its range of firewall products and services.
The deal extends the company's existing US distribution relationship with Ingram into Europe, said Anna Focks, director of European marketing at Watchguard.
The agreement, which will initially cover the UK, Finland and Germany, will see Ingram distribute Watchguard's Firebox firewall product, which is aimed at the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) market and can support 50 to 5000 users.
David Ward, IT services consultant at reseller Peak Services, which works on Firebox sales, said: "It brings an affordable firewall to the SME market, changing firewalls from high-end appliances to ones that appeal to a broader market."
Focks said: "People no longer ask why they should buy security, but what security they should buy. Firewalls are becoming more and more commodity items, so a distributor such as Ingram is perfect to get to new markets."
"Ingram has a large reseller database which gives us good access to the market. We go 100 per cent through resellers and our sales in the UK are going great," she added.
As firewalls become adopted by smaller companies, often with little or no IT support in-house, resellers can take advantage by offering specialised services, said Chris McNab, network security analyst at security reseller MIS Corporate Defence Solutions.
"You can't really just drop in a firewall and expect it to be fully secure because the box must be configured correctly. Resellers have an important job as consultants," he said.
Founded in 1996, Watchguard claims to be the number two internet security company behind Check Point Software Technologies. Last month it said its preliminary figures for the quarter ended 31 December 2000 would show a profit of between $19.5m and $20m.
First published in Computer Reseller News