Security Vendor Net6 Gets New Channel Program On Track

The program, which will launch with three solution providers in the fold, revolves around the San Jose, Calif.-based firm's Hybrid-VPN tool, an appliance that combines IPSec and SSL VPN technology to enable secure remote tunneling from literally any environment.

Murli Thirumale, CEO of Net6, said the program guarantees 30 percent margins on all new sales, which is unusually high for a VPN market that usually sees margins around 20 percent or 25 percent.

"We want our channel to offer partners incremental market opportunities," he said. "The best way to do that is to incent them to sell more [tools]."

Thirumale said the program also boasts remote product support, Intranet-based marketing assistance and training for resellers and customers.

The Net6 Hybrid-VPN differs significantly from other VPN tools in its underlying approach to security. While other VPN technologies provide network-layer access and encryption, the Hybrid-VPN combines network-layer access with application-level encryption. As such, the tool works off a URL-distributed client that automatically updates when users connect to the network, and automatically reconnects when they log on again.

After considering this unique approach, many of the first Net6 resellers predict the new product will be a hot-selling item and said they are eager to add it to their line cards.

"The nice thing about their [Hybrid-VPN] product is that when you're behind someone else's firewall, you have the ability to still connect through to your VPN," said Norm Shockley, CEO of Adeara, Sunnyvale, Calif. "With that kind of functionality, we think we'll sell a lot of [the devices]."

Ted Nathan, vice president at Idyllic Systems, Farmington Hills, Mich., said the Net6 device perfectly complements some of the other security tools he sells, such as appliances from SonicWALL and others.

"Different clients have different products, and sometimes people want to install all of them on one machine and it doesn't work," he said. "To have one client that isn't going to interfere with those and still bring you good margins is fantastic."

Pricing on the Net6 Hybrid-VPN tool starts at $1,500 for 10 tunnels and increases based on the number of tunnels.