It’s well established Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. has secured a strong place in the enterprise. Now the Israel-based network security company is being a bit more aggressive in the SMB, a move that will allow its solution providers to reach untapped lower markets by taking network security up a few notches.
To that end, the firm launched its 600 Appliance line, aimed at nabbing viruses, spam, malicious Web sites and other security challenges stumping the SMB.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the company is touting performance as the most significant selling point — with highlighted features including 1.5 Gbps of firewall throughput and 37 SecurityPower units. To that end, the 600 Appliance line offers the same next-generation firewall and threat prevention on Check Point products used in the Fortune 100, the company says. But it also comes equipped with a slew of standard features that include firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention, anti-virus, anti-spam, application control and URL filtering.
However, in order to make a stronger push into the SMB, the new appliance line is also better geared for the skills, staffing and budget associated with small organizations. As such, the appliances are easy to set up and manage, and are offered through a streamlined, intuitive user interface, along with an array of pre-defined security policies.
That bodes well for solution providers wanting to ramp up their user base quickly in order to reduce total cost of ownership and get a viable SMB business off the ground.
Meanwhile, the launch indicates that Check Point is making a more assertive push into smaller markets. And with good reason – SMB security needs are growing and becoming more complex. By numerous reports, the SMB is spending more on security, and its investments are only going to increase. According to a report issued by IDC, the SMB security spend will likely exceed $5.6 billion by 2015. And while overall SMB IT spending is estimated at a rate of 5 to 6 percent, spending on security is anticipated to grow twice as fast.
“Cyber attacks on small businesses are on the rise. It’s no longer just the larger businesses that are being attacked, but companies with a hundred employees or less are also lucrative targets, and no business sector is immune,” said Dorit Dor, Check Point vice president of products.
It’s an opportunity that’s not lost on Check Point, which has been retooling its strategy to better cater to SMB needs. Last month the firewall and security appliance firm debuted a new appliance line that took a crack at remote and small branch office markets.
Check Point also gained a stronger foothold into the SMB earlier this year with the launch of its Threat Emulation Software Blade, trumpeted as an affordable option for cash-strapped customers with a flexible, pay-as-you-go business model and array of service options.
Check Point President Amnon Bar-Lev told Channelnomics earlier this year that the company planned to make greater forays in the SMB. And its latest release seems to take it a few steps further in fulfilling that pledge.
That said, Check Point is emerging as the challenger in light of a vast sea of networking security competitors vying for the SMB space. But the company is hoping to use its enterprise prowess to its advantage by touting a lower market product with upmarket features. It’s a selling point that solution providers might increasingly rely on in light of a more treacherous threat environment that is increasingly turning its cannons on the SMB.
