Extreme, McAfee Forge Network Security Pact

Two industry powerhouses are teaming up to lock down the network with integrated and interoperable gear aimed squarely at midsize to large enterprises.

Extreme Networks and McAfee on Monday said the two companies are working toward tighter integration and a joint go-to-market strategy that will break the status quo and make them a true "alternative" to the market leaders.

'We're going to be a better solution than Cisco. We're going to be a better solution than Juniper," said Huy Nguyen, Extreme's director of enterprise solutions marketing.

While the two companies are currently in the throes of mapping out their channel strategy, Nguyen said the channel will play a strong role in the joint go-to-market strategy for Extreme and McAfee. Nguyen said the two companies are looking now at where they have channel overlap.

"Our ultimate goal is to put together a program to benefit our channels," he said, adding that the game plan is to make it simpler for VARs to do business with both Extreme and McAfee.

In the first phase of the alliance, the two companies will make their products communicate better with each other and be manageable through a single console, meaning the network and security infrastructures can be controlled through a single pane. Essentially, Extreme lays the pipes with its switches and McAfee wraps in the end-to-end IPS, firewall and data leakage protection, creating what's being called a "secure unified network."

The alliance will include joint marketing of secure network solutions and interoperability testing to support secure network solutions. According to Extreme and McAfee, joint customers will benefit from McAfee's cloud-based Global Threat Intelligence supported by McAfee's research experts. Users also will be able to manage their security applications through McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator software, the centralized management console.

In a statement, Dan Ryan, executive vice president of McAfee's network security business, said the partnership helps users be more confident in the integration of their network and security infrastructures.

"McAfee is joining forces with Extreme Networks to extend reliable and secure networking to our mutual global customers, allowing them the best possible choices in securing their applications and communications with simplified, high-performance solutions," Ryan said in the statement.

Nguyen said product integration should be in place by the end of the year. Extreme and McAfee are currently educating and training the channel on how the integrated solutions will work on the managed services options and on how to position Extreme-McAfee products as an alternative to the incumbents.

"We want to provide the channel a differentiated solution," Nguyen said.

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