DDoS heavyweight Arbor enters channel

DDoS mitigation vendor signs Exclusive Networks after launching its first offering targeted at enterprise datacentre

The world's dominant DDoS mitigation vendor, Arbor Networks, is constructing a two-tier channel to take its first enterprise-specific offering to market in Europe.

According to Infonetics Research, Arbor holds a 61 per cent share of the global DDoS mitigation market, including a 75 per cent share in its traditional carrier stronghold.

It is now looking to replicate that success with Pravail, its first offering tailored to enterprise datacentres, which it launched in November.

Pan-European distributor Exclusive Networks has been brought in to recruit resellers with expertise in the datacentre within Arbor's core verticals of online retail and gaming, finance, government and utilities.

Jeremy Nicholls, channel director EMEA at Arbor, said: "Over the past decade it has all been about volumetric DDoS attacks.

"What is changing is that the threat is being moved towards the enterprise because of how easy it is to access bots and DDoS tools that enable you to create a DDoS attack. Anyone can do it."

According to Arbor's own research, 40 per cent of organisations that have deployed a firewall in their datacentre have seen it fail due to a DDoS attack.

Barrie Desmond, EMEA marketing director at Exclusive Networks, said: "The sophistication of the attacks is increasing. It is not just brute force any more but also targeted attacks."

Desmond said resellers could expect average deal sizes with Pravail upwards of $120,000 (£76,000) and "above-average margins".

"Compared with the awareness and knowledge of Arbor in the service provider space, they are virtually unknown in the enterprise space," Desmond said. "So this fits with our remit of taking disruptive vendors to market."

David Hobson, managing director of GSS, said the MTI-owned security integrator is potentially interested in working with the vendor.

"Arbor is very well regarded in the telco space and it makes sense for it to move from the core into the datacentre space," he said.