Security: All in One vs. Best of Breed

ASSESSING CUSTOMER NEEDS
Among VARs, there’s still a considerable amount of confusion as to what security options— whether integrated or best of breed— are the best fit for customers. According to Julie Parrish, vice president of the global channel office at Symantec, based in Cupertino, Calif., “The biggest challenge partners have is putting into context all the threats and the possible products to mitigate those threats.” When do customers need server backup versus PC backup, for example? When does it make sense to deploy firewalls vs. intrusion detection systems or antivirus? “There are a lot of players in the security space, and the context can be difficult for resellers to understand,” she adds.


The way to understand the context is to sit down with customers and truly assess their needs in relation to the risks they face—another strategy that lends itself to establishing a services-based relationship with customers. While companies big and small face many of the same threats, both from external sources as well internal ones (due to employee lapses or lack of security awareness), every company has different thresholds for risk.


Companies in financial services, healthcare, and online retailing, for example, are subject to industry-specific data and privacy regulations and have significantly more stringent security requirements than other companies. Also, companies that have remote employees or contractors who require access to the network have network access considerations that other companies don’t face.


Understanding the key industry and business security concerns is a good way to recommend specific technologies, but there’s more to security solutions than products. “A good email filter on the gateway will get rid of a lot of spam,” says Security Incite’s Rothman, but phishing and social engineering schemes that aim to deceive employees are becoming increasingly serious problems. “Ultimately, the users are the last line of defense,” Rothman adds.


Employees need training in security awareness, such as the characteristics of legitimate emails and the potential consequences of opening messages from unknown sources. “One of the elements is the human factor,” says All Covered’s Gong. “Partners can help establish acceptable usage policies and help train employees about good security practices.” (See related story, “Security Risks: The Human Factor,” this issue.)


Good security technology coupled with good consulting services can translate into a very healthy chunk of business for channel partners. Yet with all the options out there, VARs most certainly have to do their homework and offer the right products that meet their customers’ needs.


A few years ago, Walling wasn’t happy with some of the Tier 1 security vendors. The price and resource utilization required of the security offerings weren’t a good match for his customers, so he became a reseller of the Grisoft AVG antivirus product. “There’s flexible licensing and the product is good,” Walling says. “We have up to a 40 percent margin, and we can still offer it to end users at a good price. And they get absolute protection with minimal disruption.”


For channel partners, the homework involved in building a successful security business can be well worth it: According to data from Forrester Research, at least two-thirds of SMBs plan to either initially purchase or upgrade software security sometime in 2007, and 43 percent plan to get help from IT consultants and systems integrators to implement security technology.


Gemalto’s Duncan advises VARs to deeply immerse themselves in security issues—both the threats and vulnerabilities, as well as the talk coming from the vendor community. “The industry is moving rapidly to address IT security, and every major vendor is putting out technology that SMBs can use for security,” he says.


In this new world of IT security, you have to listen to what they are saying, make note of their positioning, and select the technology that makes the most sense for your customers.


MEGAN SANTOSUS is a freelance business and technology writer in Natick, Mass.