Websense Launches New SMB Tailored Product

Websense has launched Websense Express, its first web security and content filtering application tailored specifically for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Based upon the company's enterprise-oriented software, the new product features a quicker installation process, a smaller network footprint, and a simplified management interface.

"We're trying to address what we consider an under-served market in terms of SMB capability," says Steve Kelley, Senior Director of Product Management at Websense. "When we looked into the SMB market, even though we have been selling there with our enterprise products, one of the things we noticed is a lot of 'white space', if you will."

Mike Miller, Account Manager at Addison, Tx.-based reseller ANI Direct, said ease of installation is the product's greatest advantage. "In small businesses, these IT guys are running around and they don't have a couple of hours to do testing and installation. I can get a call from a guy today but it might be late a month or two before he actually has the time to get the installation running. If this thing can be installed in under 15 or 20 minutes, it's a whole different ball game."

Websense is also launching a new pricing structure focused on sub-1000 seat licenses, SMB service offerings, expanded support, and a streamlined ordering process.

"We looked a the how we were doing business with the channel ecosystem, and it was just too difficult for a reseller to process an order." says David Roberts, Websense's Senior Vice President of Sales for the Americas. "It was as if you walked into a 7-11 and picked up a box of detergent, but before you could pay for it you had to call the manufacturer for permission. We've reworked the entire process to make it frictionless."

Due to securities regulations, Roberts was unable to comment on the possible impact of Websense's plans to acquire competitor SurfControl, which has traditionally focused its efforts on the midmarket. Surfcontrol's product portfolio, however, does currently include email-scanning technology that Websense currently lacks. He did confirm, moreover, that the new product development roadmap includes plans to add data leakage protection technology gained from the company's recent acquisition of PortAuthority.