McAfee fires Arrow into SaaS security market

Duo launch scheme allowing resellers to offer web, email and endpoint security wares on monthly basis, with no upfront costs

McAfee and distributor Arrow ECS claim to have shattered the barrier of entry for resellers into the £180m UK hosted web and email security market.

Available through the ArrowSphere cloud platform, McAfee SaaS monthly is designed to enable small business resellers to dip their toe in the managed security market without having to shell out on certification or reporting capabilities.

Under the scheme, partners can brand, sell and manage McAfee's SaaS web, email and endpoint protection technology on a monthly basis.

The aim is to give resellers maximum choice about how they consume McAfee's technology, explained Tim Stone, SMB and distribution director for EMEA.

"We wanted to offer our resellers a way to access that market in a slightly different way from the usual MSP model," Stone said.

"With this, there is no risk, no upfront investment and it meets a clear customer demand to spend Opex budgets on a monthly, rather than annual basis."

As well as the traditional on-premise model, McAfee resellers can already offer its technology under an annual hosted scheme. An MSP model, where they must report back to McAfee, is also available, Stone explained.

SaaS Monthly will provide them with a fourth option that hands them access to the SaaS market without the need for any upfront investment, he said.

Despite being aimed at the small business market, SaaS Monthly is supported by the same global threat intelligence infrastructure that underpins how McAfee protects its largest enterprise customers. Resellers can use the platform to manage multiple customers, adding or removing users in line with seasonal fluctuations or a customer's growth, Stone said.

"The traditional model of consuming software required a renewal event," he added. "When technology is consumed on a monthly basis, it negates the need for that renewal event and the reseller can focus more on chasing new business."

Citing figures from Canalys, Stone claimed the UK hosted web and email security market was worth £180m last year, with the web and email sub-segments set to grow at a CAGR of 15 and 17 per cent respectively, between 2013 and 2017.

The traditional MSP model may continue to suit some resellers

The new platform is available in the UK, France, Germany and Denmark. McAfee is in talks to launch similar offerings with its other distributors, which include Tech Data and Ingram Micro in the UK, but Stone said the model requires integration with McAfee's systems.