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BANGALORE: Network security solutions provider, WatchGuard, today launched its SSL VPN gateway, the Firebox SSL Core VPN gateway, along with Citrix Secure Access targeted at the SMB space. Ajit Pillai, country manager, India and SAARC, WatchGuard Technologies, said no other vendor had released a product for this high growth segment until now. The new product is quite a departure for the company, which hitherto, focused on IP Sec-based VPN, mainly for the enterprise segment.
The SSL VPN market in India is estimated at US $2 million and is likely to touch US $6 million in a couple of years. Of this, the mid-market SSL VPN segment is likely to grow 40 percent this year. Pillai said the Firebox solution was cost-effective compared to other vendor products, which were mainly aimed at enterprises.
The Firebox SSL VPN gateway provides user connectivity in two modes, namely, Secure Access client and kiosk. In the first, users can access any application or network resource while the kiosk mode allows for security access Citrix ICA, remote desktop and any Web-based network resource using Web-enabled handhelds, laptops or desktops.
WatchGuard would be choosing its top 15 WatchGuard Secure Partners (WSPs) to market the product for the SMB segment in India. “We realized that we need a specialized set of partners to tap into its segment,” said Pillai.
WatchGuard, which classifies its products as edge, peak and core products, acquired over a thousand customers in India last year. Unified threat management (UTM) is a feature that cuts across all its product lines.
On the issue of whether the company would follow Aventail’s strategy and aggressively go after the IP Sec replacement market, Pillai said this trend was predominant in the enterprise segment and not in mid-market and SMB segments. He added that the market was not yet mature for an integrated IP Sec- SSL VPN appliance. He said: “Having both of them on the same box is not proven and there are issues of compatibility. According to analysts, these technologies will remain separate for at least two to three more years.”
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