IronPort forges new Alliance

Email security gateway vendor IronPort has launched Platform Partner Alliance, a scheme designed to help its VARs differentiate themselves from their rivals.

According to the company, the Alliance, which will involve security vendors such as PGP Corporation, PostX, Sigaba, Sophos, Authentica and Veritas/KVS, will allow partners to offer customers multi-vendor email security, based on IronPort's email security appliances.

Gerard Kerrigan, partner manager at IronPort, said the scheme is a good way of engaging with the company's existing channel and opening up new business avenues.

"In the past vendors and their partners have always just sold a point solution and moved on, looking for new customers. What they should be doing is opening up the account and facilitating all of the customer's needs to form a deeper relationship," Kerrigan said.

"This is what the Alliance will help achieve, and it will encourage end-users to stick with the same partner."

He claimed that the firm is targeting both SME and enterprise business.

In addition, IronPort has announced an expanded four-year OEM deal with Symantec, which will allow partners to deploy either or both of Symantec's recently launched Brightmail AntiSpam engine and AntiVirus engine on IronPort's email security appliances.

Kerrigan claimed the partnership proves IronPort is a significant force in the market.

"It also puts pressure on rival vendors such as MessageLabs to come up with an alternative," he said.

Tim Ager, vendor sales director at distributor InTechnology, welcomed the move.

"IronPort definitely has the right approach. A number of vendors are forging strong partnerships, based on the Check Point OpSec model, and vendors with strong technology tend to attract others," he said.

"If you look at the names this initiative has attracted, it speaks for itself. Customers want something that is easy to deploy and manage without having to deal with seven different vendors for their security needs. This fits the bill and ties in with some of our other vendor relationships."

sara_yirrell@vnu.co.uk

See also:

Diagonal Security docks at IronPort

Email gateway manufacturer signs up VAR for its market strength  11 Jul 2004

Common anti-spam standard ready soon

Industry likely to agree on IP-based sender authentication scheme  25 Jun 2004

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