Sophos Makes Endpoint Security Product Channel-Friendly

The U.K.-based company said Monday that it has combined two of its products, the Endpoint Security and Control and the Endpoint Security and Data Protection, into one called Endpoint v10. The latter is available in three tiers: enterprise, advanced and basic for small businesses or companies that only want anti-malware software.

The previous products confused channel partners and customers because there was little difference between them. The products had the same capabilities, with the Security and Data Protection software also including data encryption for hard drives. "We heard from our channel partner that our naming wasn't very intuitive," John Metzger, product marketing manager for Sophos, said.

Under the new name, channel partners can sell any combination of three components in the advanced edition: web filtering, patch assessment or hard drive encryption. All three software are in the enterprise edition. The tiered approach is expected to give channel partners more options in selling to all size companies. "We're opening up new markets," Metzger said.

Sophos also has upgraded its endpoint software. Web filtering now includes content filtering, so businesses have the option of blocking sites with pornography, hate speech and gambling. The product provides blocking for up to 14 content categories. Businesses also have the option of warning employees when heading to a sketchy site, rather than blocking it outright. The product is aimed at companies that do not have a web gateway and are looking for a less expensive alternative.

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