SafeNet aims developers with new product

BANGALORE, INDIA: SafeNet has recently launched the latest version of their Sentinel HASP token product which is available in both physical as well as software forms. The product is primarily aimed at the software developers and hardware system developers as well to those who wish to have a solution for fraud prevention and compliance.

"This is the 5.0 version of the product and the major difference is that in this version, both the physical as well as soft tokens now come with the ability to support virtualized environments as opposed to it being limited to the physical token on earlier versions," said Rana Gupta, director-India and SAARC, SafeNet India.

With this product, SafeNet aims to tap in both the standalone consumer segment as well as the enterprise segments.

"With the kick start capability feature coming in, we can now offer our customers the option of trying the product before they actually buy it. They can download and use it for a limited period before they are prompted to make a purchase," added Gupta.

Talking about the functionality of the token, Gupta said, "This is essentially a security enhancement product. From a software developer's perspective, this token can help with preventing piracy of the software application developed by you by stopping the copying of your software from taking place and even if it gets copied, the copied version will not work properly. From the hardware system developer's perspective, it can be used to decide how much functionality to offer to the customer thereby enabling them to offer customer specific product licensing depending on the functions opted for. From the aspect of prevention of fraud and compliance, the token can be used to authenticate and stop certain applications and systems from being used by others."

Asked on why both the physical as well as soft form factors were made available, Gupta said, "Many enterprise customers are finicky about letting their employees use a USB port device and hence many of them lock their ports for fear of data security. In such a case, the software version of the product can be used independent of the hardware token. Of course the physical token makes the whole issue of portability easier but the software version enables us to also tap into those segment of people who buy online and do not want to wait for the physical shipment of their product to arrive."

Gupta felt that the ISV community would be interested in this product along with application developers.

"By Q3 of this fiscal, we will also be coming out with a similar product for SaaS and cloud service providers. With the product we have just launched, there is also the potential for channel partners to partner as third-party managed service providers linking both the ISVs and the end-customer or they could go and sell this product with the option of us hosting the service from our end," said Gupta.

As far as pricing of this product is concerned, Gupta said, "At the very basic token level, the price starts from Rs 1,100 and can go up to as high as Rs 12,000 for more high-end tokens of the Sentinel HASP."

SafeNet has also launched a new partner program for its channel partners who will push the vendor's remote authentication solutions. There are three levels-Silver, Gold and Platinum and each level is entitled to various benefits.

"We have just started this program in March and currently have around one Silver, two Gold and one Platinum partner in the country. We wish to increase our partner base to 20 this year," said Gupta.

While Silver partners do not have any revenue commitment, both Gold and Platinum partners have to guarantee a certain level of business to be eligible for the benefits accrued to them at that level.

"In terms of benefits, our Silver partner can look to make double digit margins while the difference in terms of percentage among all three levels is that of 10 percent with the higher level making that much more in terms of discounts and rebates. On the other hand, in terms of the requirement from their side, while we recommend that a Silver partner has a certified employee on roll, it is not compulsory. For Gold partners however, they need to have at least two employees certified on our solutions, one of which must be technically certified while for Platinum partners, they must have at least three certified employees of which two must be trained on technical aspects," explained Gupta.