Sentrion opens gateway for Sendmail resellers

Vendor launches first appliance as it changes sales approach and looks for VARs

Email security infrastructure vendor Sendmail is looking to set up a channel following the launch of its first appliance.

The vendor recently launched its Sentrion gateway security device, which offers perimeter protection with controls to manage email connections and stop denial of service attacks. It also features spam, virus and phishing protection, Sendmail claimed.

Sentrion can be deployed stand-alone or with Sendmail’s software, and features a centralised console for managing policies across appliances or software servers.

Thorgeir Einarsson, vice-president of international sales and market development at Sendmail, said the firm is changing its sales approach.

“Traditionally we have been a direct sales company, but with the launch of this box we are looking for a VAR channel. Security VARs are looking for a box that is capable of more than just anti-spam and anti-virus. Sentrion features more advanced capabilities and it will also enable resellers to offer services around it,” he said.

Einarsson claimed the vendor is not looking to recruit a high number of resellers. “We know it is a competitive market out there and we are not going for volume, we are looking for the better resellers. It is important to make sure our channel strategy works. We will be releasing upgrades to the box almost quarterly, so we need to be close to our partners to get their feedback,” he said.

However, Bob Tarzey, service director at Quocirca, said Sendmail may struggle to make an impact on an already crowded market.

“We already have vendors such as CipherTrust and IronPort, which have appliances in the market and have been plugging away for a couple of years. Sendmail is pretty late to market with its appliance.

“Another problem is the fact that Sendmail does not have an existing channel base selling its software. The resellers that do sell email filtering appliances will already have signed up with other vendors. Sendmail is going to have a challenge in winning mindshare,” he said.