SMB Briefs: November 21, 2005

‘Worry-Free&' Security From Trend Micro

The first phase includes new versions of the vendor&'s antivirus and antispam solutions with added personal firewall protection. Trend Micro Client Server Security for SMB 3.0 combines existing threat prevention technology with a new automated approach to provide seamless monitoring, response and defense against viruses, hackers and other threats.

The package costs $23.63 per seat. Meanwhile, Client Server Messaging Security for SMB 3.0 costs $45.15 per seat and offers antispam, antiphishing and e-mail content filtering.

“In SMB, I would say we have completed the mission,” said Lane Bess, Trend Micro&'s president of North American operations. “We have greatly enhanced our antispyware and antispam and really integrated it ... to make it very simple and easy to manage.”

Lenovo Cuts Prices To Court Small Biz
In a move that attacks Dell in the low-entry price space, Lenovo is shipping the ThinkCentre E Series desktop at an entry price of $379. The systems include crash and image recovery software.

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“The small-business market is growing really fast,” said Dilip Bhatia, Lenovo&'s manager for worldwide desktops. “We wanted to create a set of offerings that offer a differentiation in the marketplace.”

The ThinkCentre E 50, in tower and small desktop form factors, is built with either a Pentium 4 or a Celeron processor and the Intel 915 GV chipset with GMA 900 graphics and the SIS 661 FX chipset.

VoIP Still Big In Small Firms
There is still a big opportunity for solution providers and vendors to sell VoIP solutions to SMB customers, according to consulting firm Savatar. In a survey of 300 SMB decision makers, 51 percent said they are “familiar” with VoIP and its advantages, 24 percent said they are “somewhat familiar,” and 25 percent said they are “unfamiliar.” Savatar also found that traditional telcos, ISPs and cable operators aren&'t succeeding with high-touch, high-cost sales approaches and will likely have to turn to channel partners that offer a more consultative approach.

D-Link Helps Monitor SMB Networks
D-Link&'s new Information Security Gateway (DFL-M510) is designed to monitor all traffic on a business&'s network, identify unauthorized use of bandwidth by employees, and detect and shut down hacker activity. The security appliance can be integrated into existing networks without changing their architecture and can optimize bandwidth on internal networks.

The $2,799 security appliance, part of D-Link&'s NetDefend line, alerts IT administrators to the patterns of traffic flow generated by P2P applications, instant messaging and file transfers. The device is also designed to stop Trojans, spyware, adware and worms based on rules that can be applied to special groups, IP numbers, subnets or hosts.

D&H Picks Up Ricoh Printers
D&H Distributing signed a deal to distribute Ricoh SMB and commercial color laser printers, monochrome laser printers, multifunction units, departmental scanners and accessories.

Ricoh&'s new Aficio color laser printers, the CL7200 and CL7300, will appeal to small businesses because they utilize fewer resources and offer higher-volume options than most pricier products, said Dan Schwab, D&H&'s vice president of marketing.

Both color and black-and-white documents can be printed on the CL7300 at up to 35 ppm on either one side or both sides of a sheet of paper. The unit also offers secure printing via IPP data encryption.

Apptix Buys MailStreet To Bolster Hosted Mail
Apptix, a provider of managed e-mail and collaboration applications for small to midsize businesses, this month announced plans to acquire MailStreet, a small-business messaging specialist.

MailStreet provides hosted e-mail based on Microsoft Exchange Server and relevant antispam and antivirus add-ons, as well as connections to wireless devices. Apptix offers similar services but in shared- and dedicated-resource models.

Apptix&'s applications are often private-labeled by other service providers, such as Verio and Savvis. Apptix plans to remain focused on messaging and collaboration but add IM, Web conferencing and other capabilities.