Coming to America: German Security Vendor Hits U.S. Shores
Company:
Headquarters: Nuremberg, Germany
Technology Sector: Security
Key Product: Secure Enterprise Management System
Year Founded: 1986
Number of Channel Partners: 12 worldwide
Ideal Channel Partner: Enterprise-focused solution provider
Why You Should Care: Looking for a fresh offering in the VPN space? NCP Engineering entered the North American market three weeks ago with a modular, end-to-end VPN portfolio.
The Lowdown: NCP Engineering has a growth strategy that has worked. With the mounting number of remote and on-the-go workers (and the increased demand for secure communications offerings), the German VPN security company saw a niche in the marketplace and filled it.
Many security vendors are like general practitioners, but NCP has taken a different tack, said Simon Ford, global sales director for NCP Engineering. "We're like the heart specialists, concentrated in one area," he said.
While the company has flourished in Germany and other European markets, it entered the North American market on March 23. Its grand debut will come later this month at the 2009 RSA Security Conference in San Francisco, where representatives will demonstrate its full enterprise product portfolio. And as the company expands, it is aiming to add more U.S.-based enterprise solution providers to the mix, Ford said.
"We've been so successful in Germany, the [NCP] founder said, 'Software is software, why don't we take it overseas?' " Ford said.
The company prides itself on exclusively providing easy-to-manage, comprehensive, high-security remote access products for enterprise markets. Specifically, its VPN portfolio combines SSL and IPSec management with strong policy enforcement capabilities, including a single-point Secure Enterprise Management System, a Secure Enterprise Server gateway and a Secure Enterprise Client that provide connections for a wide array of platforms.
But what sets NCP apart is its ability to fully and seamlessly integrate with products from Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Check Point Software Technologies, SonicWall and other major vendors, Ford said. In addition to full NAC support and management, NCP's VPN product also incorporates an integrated dynamic personal firewall for enhanced security in accessible locations such as airports or coffee shops.
"What we've done is we've realized that security is kind of a pain in the butt, so we really make it as easy as possible for the end user," Ford said. "We know that the end user is not going to be a technical person."