iboss extends its established cloud architecture into a new distributed gateway, which is aimed at the hybrid cloud market.
Peter Martini, iboss President
San Diego-based iboss Cybersecurity has announced a new built-for-the-cloud Distributed Gateway Platform. It is being positioned as superior to traditional hybrid secure web gateway solutions in its ability to offer full cloud functionality to customers who want to build a cloud presence, but aren’t yet ready to rip and replace their on-premise gear.
iboss has been around since 2004, competing in the secure web gateway space with a cloud-based network perimeter data loss protection solution. Their sweet spot is mid to large-sized enterprises, and their primary competitors are Websense, McAfee, ZScaler and Bluecoat, now Symantec.
“Our node-based architecture is unique because it blurs the lines between cloud and on-prem without being hybrid,” said Peter Martini, one of the two twin brothers who founded iboss, and who serves as company president. “It’s not a hybrid platform.”
Martini said that the new iboss distributed gateway is fundamentally different from competing solutions on the market.
“The others are either single tenant, all-cloud, like ZScaler, or hybrid, meaning that they are both all cloud and on prem solutions that talk together,” he stated. “Most of the market has tried to solve the problem with a hybrid platform, but the remote sites don’t have all the capabilities. There’s a feature parity issue. Our distributed gateway is a cloud fabric, rather than two different pieces of material stitched together. That means that the cloud has all the features, and there’s no parity issue.
“Many customers – really, still the majority of customers – aren’t however ready for full cloud, either because they don’t want rip and replace, they don’t want to move everything there, including their headquarters, or because of compliance issues,” Martini continued. “Our distributed gateway is basically a cloud that can be unplugged. With us, they can unplug their legacy system and plug us in with no changes, while gaining the fabric of the cloud. In the future, if they want to go all cloud, they are covered. They don’t have to backhaul.”
The iboss Distributed Gateway Platform’s security capabilities include malware detection and response, content filtering, behavioral analytics and risk scoring, mobile device management, and sandboxing.
“This is an extension of what we have offered, and not a new architecture,” Martini said. “We are leveraging the existing iboss architecture to provide the exact same capabilities in the cloud. We have over 100 patents on that architecture. It’s very well vetted.”
It is sold through a single SaaS subscription that streamlines hardware, software, and services, and is available in three all-inclusive license packages.
iboss now sells 100 per cent through channel partners, and Martini said this new platform reacts to channel issues.
“Only about five per cent of our partners actually sell cloud, because of these customer issues,” he stated. “This is idea for partners who are traditional VARs, and who are looking to become MSPs. Because it’s designed as a cloud fabric, as an MSP, they can leverage this cloud architecture. They don’t have to resell another product. All partners also have the advantage of a shorter sales cycle, because there’s no longer a rip and replace, and there’s no longer an issue of eventual migration for the cloud, because they have this pathway.”
iboss has recently been expanding its channel presence in Canada. Last August they inked a deal with Interwork Technologies to deepen their Canadian presence.
“We had previously handled Canada on a one-tier model, but we signed on Interwork to change that and expand our presence in Canada,” Martini said.
