VAR Axial Systems 'very excited' for new Ixia product

Security player Ixia releases new network detection product ThreatArmor

VAR Axial Systems has said it is very excited about the launch of Ixia's new network appliance ThreatArmor.

The California-headquartered vendor has now launched its new ThreatArmor product to UK partners, which allows customers to block malicious traffic from their networks, and thus "reduces the burden on existing security infrastructure".

Speaking with CRN, Mike Simmonds, Axial Systems' managing director (pictured), said he was delighted with the latest move from Ixia.

"I'm very excited about it, and the prospect of what it can do and how it does it," he said. "I think it's got a couple of unique [properties]. Firstly it wraps around the existing security posture and adds a couple of layers to it... And it is very simplistic; if you never communicate with these people, it just turns off."

Simmonds said that while it is too soon to talk about customer feedback, he said he expects the product to generate a lot attention.

"It's a bit early days," he said. "I did put a tweet out a couple of weeks ago, that talked about the functionality, and that seemed to get quite a lot of interest. I want to get it installed here [at Axial Systems] and [say] this is what it does when deployed in the real world. So I feel the interest will ramp up quite considerably when we can talk about real world experiences."

ThreatArmor is going to be distributed through Ixia partner Exclusive Networks in the UK and Graham Jones, the distributor's UK boss, also said the product is providing something different.

"I think it's very unique," he said. "You see a lot vendors out there that look a bit the same. So for me this is fairly unique and a clean message for the VARs.

"Firewalls are at the heart of what we sell," he said. "It's about 40 or 45 per cent of our business. And we'd like to think most of our enlightened VARs are taking a more solution-based sell, rather than just going in with the new kit. It's always got to be complementary and I'd say this is very complementary to those guys. This was a fairly easy selection for the team and hopefully the more enlightened VARs."