Security software producer Sophos today announced the release of a new unified threat management appliance and software package exclusively for small businesses.
The company said the release was in response to “increasing market demand for small business security solutions” and promised the Sophos UTM 100 appliance with BasicGuard would “set a new standard for feature-rich small business security solutions-offering network, email, Web and wireless protection together”.
Regional ICT security experts have long argued that SMBs represent a greater cyber security concern than enterprise-level organisations, given their sizable contribution to national GDPs and their inability to recover from incursions. A recent IDC report, cited by Sophos reiterated these sentiments and added “Small and medium-sized businesses… [are prevented] from just buying what large enterprises purchase.”
Sophos said: “Although companies of all sizes can fall victim to malware and security breaches, tight budgets and a lack of resources typically impact small businesses that are oftentimes obligated to deploy low-end security products that lack necessary security functions. And these functions don’t necessarily scale as the business grows or their needs evolve. UTM 100 customers can easily upgrade their license to include more advanced security features and accommodate more employees.”
BasicGuard includes many capabilities that Sophos argues are typically reserved for enterprise solutions, such as: Web application control features; network firewall and IPS; remote access and VPN; wireless protection; Web antivirus and URL filter; and email antivirus and anti-spam capabilities.
“Today’s small businesses want a reliable set of core capabilities with full flexibility to expand features as their needs and budgets grow,” said Chris Kraft, vice president, product management, Sophos.
“Complete security shouldn’t be out of reach for small businesses. We believe they shouldn’t have to compromise between security and budgets, which is why we developed the UTM 100 enterprise features and the ability to upgrade, at an attractive price point.”
