Authenex Offers Discounts To SMBs

The promotional bundles, which include Authenex A-Key USB tokens, A-Guard Server software and one year of customer support and maintenance, are scheduled to roll out this week and will be available through Sept. 30.

For 25 users, the package costs $999, compared with the list price of $3,076. A 50-user package costs $1,999, compared to a $4,950 list price. A 100-user package costs $2,999 compared to a $8,283 list price.

"It's more user-friendly in terms of pricing," said Chris Hoff, president and CEO of NodeWarrior Networks, a security solution provider in Los Angeles. "These [packages are really designed to get [SMBs to buy the product and expand it into their enterprise further."

Hoff said he helped Authenex create the promotion while considering the needs of his customers. Two-factor authentication solutions are often deployed initially as pilot projects, but pricing can be a barrier for some SMBs, he said. Authenex's promotional offering removes that barrier, Hoff said.

"We've got customers who initially want to deploy this for their administration staff," he said. "Once they've tried it internally, they'll expand it."

The new bundles also streamline ordering because they package the products together under one model number, he added.

Jeff Rowland, vice president of sales and marketing at Authenex, said the company traditionally targets SMBs, which it defines as companies with 25 to 1,000 users. The company's prices are already lower than those of competitor RSA Security, but Oakland-based Authenex is taking a more aggressive approach with the promotion, Rowland said.

"We think we needed to jump-start the market because folks haven't thought of another option than [RSA's SecurID. These packages include everything that a small business would need to get started," he said.