Arbor Networks launches UK channel drive
VAD Exclusive Networks has signed up Arbor Networks as part of the US security vendor’s push into the UK and Europe.
Exclusive will distribute Arbor’s enterprise level Pravail Availability Protection System, an on-premise device that helps protect the datacentre edge from threats to availability, specifically, application-layer distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
Establishing itself in the service provider space, Arbor counts “most” of Europe’s tier one service providers as customers of its DDoS mitigation products. (Infonetics places Arbor as market leader with nearly 61 percent share of the overall DDoS market and 75 percent in the carrier, transport and wide broadband sector.) However, with the company acquired by technology conglomerate Danaher (NYSE: DHR) in 2010, Arbor is now seeking organic growth in new market segments, and hopes to achieve similar growth in the enterprise.
Timing
“You only need to look in the press, you’re seeing a marked increase in the number of organisations that are becoming victims of DDoS attacks,” explains Jeremy Nicholls, Europe channel director, Arbor Networks. “The timing to get into the enterprise and help [organisations] protect their assets is right and that helps to drive the interest we’re seeing from resellers and distributors.”
While high profile brands such as Playstation and Universal Music have suffered attacks that used DDoD as a diversion, he says it’s not just global brands under threat any more – it’s any company that transacts online. “It’s a great opportunity for the channel to get involved in early stage,” adds Nicholls.
According to Arbor Networks’ 7th Annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report, any business is open to DDoS attacks, thanks to “the explosion of inexpensive and readily-accessible attack tools”.
Comments Frost & Sullivan global programme director for network security, Rob Ayoub: “In recent months, high profile attacks and outages have gotten the attention of C-level executives. They are starting to understand that security begins with availability. If your datacentre is not available, all the compliance or data integrity in the world is not going to help your customers, business or your brand.”
Says Barrie Desmond, director of marketing and global accounts at Exclusive Networks: “Pravail APS focuses on the issue of availability, and supplements firewall and IPS products that are concerned with integrity and confidentiality of the network. Enterprises realise that everything starts with availability, and that is at the heart of the reseller opportunity.”
Recruitment
Nicholls says working with Exclusive, the vendor is hoping to recruit resellers in datacentres in verticals that include online retail, government, finance and manufacturing – although he says the firm is only looking for partners that “bring value and relationships to party”.
He points to Exclusive’s pan-European presence but “local entrepreneurism” as a reason for the partnership. “To reach the enterprise market, we need to work with leading distribution partners that have the influence and relationships to open doors.”
Desmond says Exclusive is known for bringing “disruptive technologies to market for partners to gain incremental sales and growth”, adding there is “a real gap in the UK market” for Arbor’s technology.
