Network Box signs Northamber deal
Vendor hopes partnership will boost its presence in SME market
Security vendor Network Box has partnered with distributor Northamber in a bid to boost the number of resellers selling its remotely managed security service.
The vendor, which boasts a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region, is looking to boost its UK presence in the SME market. Its flagship product, also called Network Box, integrates anti-virus and filtering software from Kaspersky and SurfControl, anti-spam technology, and firewall, intrusion detection and VPN technology.
The firm's latest service will include virus protection managed from a single point, spam control, firewall, intrusion prevention and Denial of Service protection. All of these features link back into a remotely managed VPN.
Adrian Buckman, product manager at Network Box, said: "We believe this is going to be of interest to a lot of companies because it is selling security as a blended subscription-based service. We provide the bespoke services and the reseller provides the account management and any value-add services on top.
"We are offering a new breed of product to the channel. We pull through service-based products into what has traditionally been a tin-based market."
Buckman added that the service, which is constantly updated and monitored, offers an ideal opening for resellers that want to enter the security market without having to incur the costs of training in-house security experts.
David Hennell, commercial director at Northamber, welcomed the partnership.
"We are increasing our focus on anything to do with networking and Network Box is a leading provider of security to the network," he said. "We are very encouraged by the partnership. Security is an ever-growing issue and an essential part of the network. It is a profitable area for our VARs to get involved in."
However, Clive Longbottom, service director at Quocirca, questioned whether there is room in the market for more vendors.
"The channel that understands security will have most of the pieces already in place and may well not have any room for another vendor," he said.
"However, the biggest issue is consumer weariness. Unless the offering does something completely different, many firms feel they can do without it."