A Linux Star Is Born
Astaro is exploiting the Linux open-source development model for most of the components in its security suite to provide a solution that dramatically reduces the cost of providing security in the small- and midsize-business market. It's a bang-up opportunity for solution providers to provide a better mousetrap with a better price than piecemeal offerings.
The Astaro suite includes antivirus, antispam, spyware removal and intrusion prevention, as well as a firewall and VPN. The gateway appliance starts at $695 for 10 users. Astaro claims that the product is priced a whopping 50 percent less than competitive offerings. And because the suite is based on Linux, it is being updated with new security features by thousands of developers. That's no small matter in the high-attack, fast-moving security market.
The most compelling piece of the Astaro story is that the company is 100 percent channel-focused and this week is formally launching a new three-tiered channel program. "We put our money where our mouth is," said Kamal Arafeh, vice president of sales at Astaro, Burlington, Mass. "All our deals go through the channel. We make sure we have a partner involved in the sales cycle."
One company profiting from the Astaro partnership is Valerent, a managed service provider in Houston.
Frank Cano, president and CEO of Valerent, which makes 75 percent of its annual revenue from services rather than products, selected Astaro after pitting its integrated suite against products from Symantec, SonicWall and McAfee. Astaro's suite has a better accelerated return on investment than the competition, he said. "The standard by which we evaluate all technology is non-negotiable," Cano said. "It has to reduce costs and improve performance." The economics are so compelling that Astaro is providing Valerent with the muscle to compete against giant outsourcers in the managed services market, he said.
"I am not married to Linux or Microsoft or anybody else," Cano said. "I am looking at function, value and price. Astaro provides us with high value."
Let's see. A high-value product solving a big problem with a 100 percent channel-focused model in a booming market. Sounds like a great partner.
What channel stars have you found? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].