Security upstart Bradford Networks earlier this month unveiled a new version of its flagship Campus Manager NAC offering that includes revamped identity management, end-point compliance, policy enforcement features and VPN support.
Campus Manager is a network access control appliance that operates out-of-band and can attach anywhere in the network, giving it the ability to secure up to tens of thousands of users, said Jerry Skurla, vice president of marketing at Bradford, Concord, N.H.
With the release of Campus Manager version 3, Bradford has beefed up its policy enforcement features and enabled administrators to monitor and control user access from wired and wireless networks, Skurla said. Access policies can be customized based on the user's identity, type of device, location and time, he added.
To ensure Campus Manager plays well in heterogeneous network environments, Bradford added support for VPN products from Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks, as well as integration with intrusion-prevention systems from 3Com's TippingPoint unit and Internet Security Systems, Skurla said.
Bob Patrick, president of MXN, an Atlanta-based solution provider, said Campus Manager provides Cisco-like functionality at a much lower price. "Campus Manager is really a security framework consisting of software and appliances that you can put on your network and do what Cisco does at a fraction of the cost, but which actually works today," he said. Its ability to provide visibility into all users connected to edge switches, including details such as MAC and IP addresses, is another key selling point, he added.
About half of Bradford's revenue currently flows through the channel. The company plans to boost this to 70 percent within the next six months, Skurla said. Bradford currently has a dozen high-end security VAR and integrator partners and plans to raise that number to 20, he added.
Campus Manager version 3 will be available in December, with a price tag starting at $7,495.
