Symantec Focuses On Compliance With Sygate Purchase

Even as the security leader works to absorb the recently acquired Veritas Software, the Cupertino, Calif., vendor unveiled plans to acquire the Fremont, Calif., end-point compliance vendor. Terms of the deal, subject to approval, were not disclosed.

Sygate&'s network access control products enforce security by ensuring that all devices connected to a network are running the appropriate security solutions, are configured correctly and possess up-to-date patches, said Brian Foster, senior director of product management at Symantec.

Once the deal closes, Symantec AntiVirus and Symantec Client Security customers will be able to license and deploy Sygate&'s Network Access Control agent to provide end-point compliance, Foster said. The company also plans to integrate its remediation capabilities such as LiveUpdate and LiveState Patch Manager and its data availability solutions into a more robust end-point compliance solution, he said.

Adding Sygate&'s perimeter defense and compliance products to Symantec&'s product line is “a great move,” said Steve Barone, president of Creative Breakthroughs, a Shelby Township, Mich., solution provider that partners with Symantec. “We&'re pumped up about it.”

Barone said Creative Breakthroughs currently offers products that compete with Sygate but it will consider switching once Sygate&'s offerings are available through Symantec. “We really like Sygate&'s technology and thought long and hard about adding it, but we didn&'t like their channel program,” Barone said. “They did a lot of deals direct, and we decided not to work with them. Once it comes under Symantec&'s program, we will take another serious look.”

Sygate president and CEO John De Santis acknowledged that the company had not been channel-focused. “We did not do a great job of reaching out to the channel,” he said. “Most of our contracts were direct.”

That&'s one of the reasons for the acquisition, De Santis said. “With Symantec&'s huge presence on end points and large base of channel partners, we see a lot of room for growth for the Sygate products,” he said.

In related news, Sygate recently launched version 5.0 of its Enterprise Protection software. The version enables VARs to offer their customers better control of devices authorized to enter a network.