Cranite Develops SMB Strategy

WLAN network security vendor Cranite Systems plans to make available this week a new version of its WirelessWall aimed at the small- and midsize-business markets.

As part of that strategy, WirelessWall is now available either preloaded on a hardware appliance or as a software-only installation, said Carrie Lavine, director of marketing at Cranite, based here.

The small- and midsize-business version is designed for deployments involving up to 250 users, while the enterprise edition is for deployments of more than 250 users, the company said. Pricing ranges from 10-user licenses for $1,550 to 100-user licenses for $9,500, she said.

"The main thing we've accomplished with this release is making the product easier to get up and running in a shorter period of time," Lavine said. "Effectively, the software is already installed, and we're also pretty much interoperable with everything at this point."

New features of Cranite's WirelessWall solution, which received Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certification in March, include easy drop-user ability; access-point management; location-based visitor policies and restricted firewall rules; integrated, Web-based system configuration, monitoring and management; and a simplified licensing process.

Jim Clements, president of React Network Services, a network security solution provider in Atherton, Calif., credits the fledgling company with a solid WLAN security product.

"With this new release, they've certainly enhanced the functionality of the product significantly," Clements said. "And being able to use a preloaded appliance makes installation and management of the product a lot easier and at a reasonable price."

The new releases are available through Westcon Group. Lavine said Cranite is working with the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based distributor to reach more small- and midsize-business partners, with a goal of boosting sales through the distributor to 70 percent by the end of the year. Remaining sales would continue to stream through Cranite's own channel program, Lavine said.