Messaging News - February 2009 - (Page 20)

MOVING INTO THE CLOUD complexity, scalability, fault tolerance and predictability of costs. As an OEM provider of cloud-based threat detection, Commtouch means to harness the vast computing power of the cloud to deliver solutions to their client-base. ”Cloud-based threat detection is the only technique capable of protecting networks from the massive, dynamic attacks that plague the Internet today,” believes Lev. “Commtouch technology faciliprovider can offer are competitive pricing and performance level assurances followed by the ability to demonstrate an understanding of the customer’s industry and the ability to move cloud services back on-premises if necessary. Bhatnagar points out that many IT managers are required to provide their internal customers (i.e., their organizations) with service level agreements (SLAs), so it’s natural for them to expect SLAs from their customers. Our more than 100 OEM partners cover a wide variety of markets and delivery methods, enabling individual IT managers to choose a Commtouch licensee that is right for them. Regardless of what solution is selected, Commtouch cloud-based detection services provide dynamic realtime protection against email- and Web-based threats.” “Privacy is a concern that many customers have,” notes Farley “Cloud services are ‘crossing the chasm’ and entering a period of widespread adoption.”—Frank Gens, IDC tates the analysis of billions of daily email and Web transactions by diversified data sources in data centers located around the globe. This analysis, all done in the cloud, enables Commtouch to offer widereaching and highly accurate coverage at the zero-hour.” Lev explains that by leveraging the cloud as the platform for collection, analysis and distribution (basically a nearly infinite database in the cloud), Commtouch solutions overcome local storage limitations, free up valuable IT management resources, provide customers with information tailored to meet their specific needs, and eliminates the need for resource-draining massupdates needed to protect against the most recent threats. Lev believes that cloud-based security does not require implementing a fully cloud-based or managed solution; detection in the cloud can be one component of any in-house appliance, software gateway or managed service. Addressing Cloud Concerns Gens says that to succeed, cloud services providers need to address a mixture of traditional and cloud concerns. Further, according to IDC survey respondents, the two most important things a cloud services 20 vendors. We believe that predictability of cost and predictability of service are key advantages of our offerings. Since customers’ price expectations are tied to value—both in terms of feature delivery, and also relative to the cost of ownership of an equivalent on-premise solution—we have just initiated new simplified packaging at very compelling price-points.” Bhatnagar adds that their commitment to value comes backed by standard industry SLAs—reliability (service availability of 99.999 percent) and protection (99 percent spam detection rate, 100 percent protection against known viruses). To better address their customers’ needs, Websense offers both an on-premise solution and a hosted service for email, offering flexibility in terms of moving between the two deployment methods—their commitment is such that they have developed engineering driven best practice documents specific to enabling hybrid deployments. “Frank Gens’ study touches excellent points,” comments Lev. “As an OEM provider, Commtouch does not sell directly to end users, but offers a cloud-based security solution to security vendors and service providers, allowing them to better meet the needs and demands of Steward, product marketing director for Websense. “It’s critical that cloud-based services are routinely audited for security and privacy. Websense services regularly go through a stringent review process and are certified ISO 27001 compliant. This global standard is only awarded to those companies who can demonstrate global best practices for the protection of data confidentiality, integrity and availability.” What’s Recession Got to Do With It? Many have pinned the interest and uptake in cloud and SaaS services to cost effectiveness. As with any new technology or methodology, a mix of money, ease of use and practicality tend to coalesce to create the next best choice for the organization. Steward believes that there are several driving factors behind customer adoption of cloud-based solutions. • Many organizations have several remote locations yet require the same level of security protection for each that they get from their on-premise solution—without the need for hardware. Cloud solutions are flexible and can be used layered on top of on-premise solutions for added protection. MESSAGING NEWS FEBRUARY 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Messaging News - February 2009

Messaging News - February 2009 Contents Editor’s Note Short Takes Options Grow for Virtualized Environments Messaging Predictions for 2009 Moving Into the Cloud IBM Comes Out Swinging Next in Messaging News Learning to Do More with Less: An RSA Conference 2009 Preview “On Message” with Ben Gross The Web Has Shifted. Is Your Network Ready? Making the Case Learn More

Messaging News - February 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.