ThreatTrack CEO Julian Waits
ThreatTrack is best known for its SMB antivirus product, VIPER. But it’s not content with remaining an SMB endpoint security company. It’s reshaping the company around thwarting advanced persistent threats targeting enterprises. Consequently, it’s looking to recruit enterprise-class solution providers to bring its products to market.
CEO Julian Waits is personally involved in rolling out the new product and recruiting a handful of large, mature security integrators and risk management specialist that can effectively incorporate ThreatTrack’s ThreatAnalyzer 5.0 product into their practice.
To facilitate this transition from an SMB software niche player to enterprise risk management, ThreatTrack is developing a new channel program that caters to the needs of large security integrators and specialists. Specifically, ThreatTrack is looking to work with a handful of security partners that have CISSP-level staffing, their own security methodologies and effective risk management practices.
The backbone of this effort is ThreatAnalyzer 5.0, the latest version of ThreatTrack’s sandboxing product that is based on a former product developed by GFI Software. The product is currently used by more than 200 organizations, mostly government agencies. ThreatTrack will turn over those government accounts to partners as incentives for joining the program, Waits said.
Recruiting enterprise-class partners isn’t the end of the SMB business, Waits said. It’s more of an evolution, in which ThreatTrack will continue to support and develop its endpoint security business, as well as support the partners that general 70 percent of the SMB sales.
The shift to enterprise risk management, though, is quite a change for ThreatTrack, which was built over the last year on the spun-off assets of GFI Software. GFI, a U.K.-based company, had acquired security assets and technology from Sunbelt Software in 2010. GFI spun off the company in 2012, shifting its focus to its thriving managed services tools.
Other security companies have tried this approach, in which they start as SMB and shift to enterprise. Websense is in the process of executing a similar approach. Kaspersky Lab is famed for building its thriving B2B security business on the foundation of consumer sales. The ThreatTrack goal is slightly different as it will attempt to run a bifurcated business between vastly different SMB and enterprise products.
Indicative of the change is the shift in operations. Under Sunbelt and GFI, the company was centered in the Tampa area. However, Waits is shifting more operational and development resources to Reston, Va., closer to tech talent and government contracts. This is a good indication that the enterprise business will get the lion’s share of resources and attention.
Waits says ThreatTrack already has a few large partners either already engaged or interested in joining the channel program.
