Taking its intellectual property beyond its immediate customer base, Novacoast, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based solution provider, has begun offering a commercial version of its intrusion detection security application through Apple's online Mac App Store.
Novacoast executives say the security application, 4Shadow, is the only one of its kind Apple has accepted to sell through its App Store.
"A lot has been written about the consumerization of IT. We don't see this happening in the security field outside of antivirus or malware," said Eron Howard, Novacoast vice president of development, in an email. The intrusion detection software, he said, is an example of the kind of enterprise security technology that should be available for SMBs and individuals.
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"4Shadow is a step toward helping consumers understand the threats and risks around them," Howard said. "Simplifying this aspect of technology was critically important for the success of this application."
Novacoast is the latest example of a solution provider seeking to commercialize technology originally developed for customer engagements. Packaging and selling a software product through a channel such as the Mac App Store helps solution providers recoup development costs and generate new revenue streams.
In a similar example, Champion Solutions Group, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based solution provider, is selling its 365 Command Office 365 management toolset through other Microsoft channel partners.
Novacoast (No. 364 on the CRN 2013 Solution Provider 500) provides software and services around security, identity and access management, collaboration, data center infrastructure and other IT. The company partners with Novell, Symantec, Kaspersky, Brocade, Citrix and other vendors.
But the company also has a sophisticated internal development operation that created 4Shadow and other software products.
"Novacoast has always been unique in that we have a mature development team, security team, and identity professional services," Howard said. "The combination of these skill sets continues to lead us into building IP and products for our vendors to take to market. This is the first security solution we've taken directly to consumers. The Mac App Store has given us a channel to do that."
PUBLISHED AUG. 21, 2013
