DDoS newcomer launches channel push
Hong Kong-based Aspida Networks signs up Heatherside as first UK distributor
Aspida Networks is the latest DDoS mitigation vendor to make overtures to the UK channel amid what it claims is rising demand for its wares.
After hiring its first feet on the street in Europe, the Hong Kong-based vendor has enlisted Heatherside as its first UK distributor and is looking to sign up resellers working with clients that have a strong online presence.
European sales director Chris Sweatapple said increased market vibrancy in the market had prompted Aspida to take a crack at the European market, starting in the UK.
According to Gartner, 25 per cent of DDoS attacks that occur this year will be application-based in a sign of cybercriminals' increasing sophistication.
"DDoS has been around for a while but it has changed into something more sinister," said Sweatapple.
"Now there are more application-based, low-speed attacks that can be far more disruptive and we are seeing the major players such as Juniper making DDoS acquisitions."
Sweatapple conceded that a new entrant will struggle to make inroads against the likes of Arbor Networks without being disruptive, but claimed Aspida trumps its larger rivals on cost of ownership and ease of installation.
"Partners do not need to be security specialists as the product is so simple to install," he said. "They just need to be aware that their customers need DDoS protection and want to work with a young and hungry vendor that is not too set in its ways."
Aspida is the second vendor signing of Heatherside, which was launched by former Fortinet boss Paul Judd last November.
Judd said that unlike other DDoS mitigation vendors, Aspida works at the protocol level rather than on a reputation basis, keeping false positives low.
"I have come close to signing half a dozen new vendors but when I have lifted up the bonnet, everything has not all been as it appeared. I have been fairly selective," he said.
"Arbor has a box that works in a similar fashion but it does not have some of the finer points that Aspida does," he added.