Sophos today announced the results of a survey of 571 IT managers and directors across North America, Europe and Australia. The survey revealed, among other issues, that small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are struggling to keep IT infrastructures up to date with current working practices and more advanced threats. According to the survey, conducted for Sophos by Vanson Bourne, 93 percent of SMBs are integrating remote working policies into their security provision, with more than half of respondents (52 percent) expecting to improve security precautions to mitigate additional risks posed by remote working. Wireless networks are also an issue, with only a fifth (21 percent) being very confident in their security. The research also found that, on average, firewalls were five years old, and that one in five respondents had suffered a network outage caused by a malware infection in the last 12 months. Both highlight the daunting task of keeping up with the latest technologies and threats.

Other findings from the research include:

•  More than a third (36 percent) of businesses struggle with applying consistent security policies across all offices
•  More than a third (37 percent) of wireless networks provide only an ‘acceptable’ level of coverage at best
•  When choosing a network security solution, the highest priority for SMBs is a low cost of ownership (30 percent), followed by ease of use (24 percent), and support offered (22 percent)
•  34 percent of respondents had their network firewall for five years or more

“Trends such as remote working, mobile and cloud are having a huge impact on the way small and medium sized businesses think about protecting their networks,� said Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO at Sophos. “For SMBs, it is critical that any network security solution has both the ease and simplicity of a one-size-fits-all approach, yet still addresses the specific vulnerabilities of each device or mode of working, as well as every access point on the network.�

Challenges

Growing threats and unprepared networks are particularly troubling, given the breadth of challenges that are now facing SMBs. With regard to network security, 44 percent of respondents cited the growing need to use cloud-based services as a major concern; 39 percent were worried about sophisticated threats; 39 percent about managing mobile devices; and a further 35 percent saw data loss as a significant challenge. These concerns are justified given that one in five of those surveyed had been infected by malware that brought down their network within the last 12 months. With the increased frequency of cyber attacks and methods to penetrate the corporate network, improvements need to be made across the board.

“Companies are reevaluating how they tackle IT security. A fragmented approach is consistently leaving networks vulnerable to attack, as new technologies such as cloud, and new devices such as mobile, require more advanced security architectures,� continued Eschelbeck, “For many, it is time to take a more holistic approach to IT security, one that ensures all elements of protection function seamlessly together.�

The research also revealed some encouraging statistics, in particular regarding IT budgets. Nearly half (44 percent) pointed to investment in IT, including virtualization (48 percent), cloud computing (44 percent), remote working (44 percent) and improvements to the wireless network (49 percent). The vast majority (70 percent) of companies are also planning to support this with further investment in security.

“It is encouraging to see companies planning to invest in IT infrastructure. Any technology additions will have a significant impact on the security infrastructure, and with 70 percent planning to increase their IT security budget in the coming year, it is vital that this investment ensures the security fabric of the entire business is as robust as possible and able to support new and evolving technologies,� concluded Eschelbeck.

To see the full report visit: www.sophos.com/networksecuritysurvey.

Sophos today announced it has signed a new cloud partnership agreement with secure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and cloud provider VMVault to provide security solutions to VMVault’s SMB Managed Services Provider (MSP) partners.

This will be a new kind of partnership for Sophos in the ANZ region. It will meet the needs of Australian SMB MSP partners that want to provide managed security and data protection services to their customers without the need to provide the infrastructure necessary to support these solutions independently.

“VMVault is one of the leading hosted virtualization companies in Australia. This relationship gives VMVault access to leading security solutions that provide them with strategic advantages in the market,� said Rob Forsyth Sophos Director APAC. “It creates the platform to provide SMB partners with Sophos security products in the cloud, while helping VMVault forge a distinctive place in a highly competitive market, broadening its portfolio and partner value proposition.�

The partnership will see VMVault provide its network of SMB MSPs with the infrastructure required to host cloud solutions, with Sophos providing its complete security suite of products, including endpoint, network, data, web, mobile and email security.

“We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Sophos, a respected industry leader. Working with a vendor that has both deep and broad solutions available in the cloud, from unified threat management, mobile, anti-malware and anti-spam, will bolster our offerings for the SMB segment� said Radek Tkaczyk Senior Systems Consultant at VMVault . “Sophos and VMVault have worked hard to ensure that together, we address the challenges that have emerged as top-of-mind in our discussions with the SMB IT Professionals Association. So far we’ve received constructive feedback, with those partners involved in trials already reporting a reduction in spam volumes.�

Sophos welcomed more than 500 partners to its recent EMEA and Americas Partner Connections Conferences. Achieving Success with Complete Security was the ongoing theme of this year’s events, which showcased the latest in cloud, mobile and integrated UTM solutions and how these solutions work together to create a more secure IT infrastructure.

Sophos’ complete security strategy removes the challenges of multiple point products by combining UTM, endpoint, mobile and cloud protection, resulting in less complexity and better value. With complete security, Sophos offers partners and customers a single system for the organization—the “security layer� for corporate IT, which cooperates at all enforcement points to provide better protection; increased visibility, which offers a unified view of security systems to quickly identify and easily fix issues; and active protection, which connects live to SophosLabs.

“As a relatively new Sophos partner, the ability to interact with longtime partners and employees was extremely beneficial to our understanding of the Sophos product lines and strategies. And the level of enthusiasm I encountered at the Sophos Partner Connections Conference was extraordinary,� said Stephan Van Der Ploog, principal, Candoris Technologies. “Additionally, the content was superior, and not just from a sales perspective. I think it will help improve our marketing activities as well, making us a more successful company in general. I am pleased to be part of a group of such dedicated and knowledgeable organizations and look forward to further developing our relationship with Sophos.�

“I was really impressed by all we heard at the Sophos Partner conference, from the strength of the company’s vision and complete security strategy to the clear focus Sophos puts on helping its partners succeed,� said Alan Bonner, CEO, Pinnacle Technology Group plc.� What really stood out for me was that it was not all about what we as partners can do for Sophos, but instead about everything that Sophos is doing to deliver value for both partners and customers alike.�

“The Sophos Partner Conference gave us a better understanding of the value that Sophos brings to our clients with complete security,� said Tommy Wolosin, principal, NetWorks. “And the opportunity to network and collaborate with talented and dedicated partners was incredibly valuable; we will be able to immediately apply those best practices we discussed, which will lead to business growth.�

During the conferences, Sophos recognized several partners for both their ongoing commitment to Sophos and for their performance during the previous year. This year’s recipients include:

EMEA Conference Partner Recognition:

Public Sector Partner of the Year: Foursys
New Business Partner of the Year: Trustmarque
Small Business Partner of the Year: Utilize

Americas Conference Partner Recognition:

Top performing Partner of the Year: SHI
Sophos Partner Program MVP: Productive Corp
Complete Security Partner of the Year: Akuity
Top Endpoint LatAm Partner of the Year: M3
Sophos UTM MVP: Celt
Sophos NSG LatAm Partner of the Year: GMS

“I thoroughly enjoyed the Sophos Partner Connections Conference. I’m always excited about Sophos, but I left the conference feeling even more enthusiastic about our relationship with the company. The complete security strategy offers industrial strength security for the mid-market, a strong value proposition for partners,� said Sheryl Tucker, emerging partner specialist, SHI (winner of the top performing partner of 2012 award). “I believe the direction the company is moving in will help us better meet our clients’ needs.�

“Our partners are the driving force behind our success and the annual partner conferences are an opportunity for Sophos senior leaders and channel teams to interact directly with them,� said Mike McGuinness, senior vice president of worldwide sales and field operations, Sophos. “We’re excited to bring together our partners for these interactive events and to empower them with complete security solutions to further grow their businesses.�

Sophos today announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Firewall Systems, the specialist security business unit of Distribution Central, a leader in technology distribution and channel services, to deliver its security solutions across Australia.

The agreement is Sophos’ first direct distribution agreement in Australia and forms part of the company’s strategy to focus on innovation and investment in its partner ecosystem. This new partnership follows Sophos’ recent recognition as SC Magazine’s Security Vendor of the Year and builds on Sophos’ regional growth strategy. It will greatly benefit Sophos’ Australian partners, resellers and customers – including greater efficiencies with back-end logistics, partner training and enablement – all being key components of the arrangement.

Sophos will continue to provide direct technical support to its Australian customers through its global network of SophosLabs experts who monitor threats, attacks and legitimate applications 24/7/365.

According to Stuart Fisher, Managing Director of Sophos Asia-Pacific, the company has partnered with Firewall Systems because of its experience as a security distributor, detailed knowledge of the security market, as well as its success and major growth in the last five years.

“Sophos is very excited to be working directly with Distribution Central as the company has a strong track record for implementing best of breed systems to support the delivery of our security solutions,� said Fisher. “Firewall Systems has specific, in-depth knowledge of the local security landscape and will be positioning Sophos highly, investing in a dedicated Sophos security team.�

Firewall Systems will distribute the complete range of Sophos solutions including Endpoint Security, Encryption and Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Web and Email Protection, Mobile Control and Sophos Network Security, and Unified Threat Management (UTM).

Nick Verykios, Managing Director at Distribution Central believes the Australian IT channel will benefit from this agreement, enabling access to Sophos’ leading security solutions with the support of Firewall System’s award-winning channel services.

“We are focused on bringing Sophos’ superior technology to our highly skilled reseller base and supporting their own customer development initiatives with our pre sales, post sales, license management, renewals management, transaction optimization, market development, technical assurance and vendor certification services. This partnership represents a significant development in the Australian IT channel and we expect our partners will benefit from this refreshing new opportunity in the technology sector.�

The distribution agreement will take effect on July 3, 2012 with immediate benefits to resellers and customers.

Sophos today announced that it has won the coveted Vendor of the Year Award at the Secure Computing Magazine Awards 2012. The top award was announced at a gala dinner, held at the 11th annual AusCERT Information Security Conference on the Gold Coast, and the awards recognize outstanding work by professionals, organizations and products in the security industry.

The judging panel was comprised of Australian-based senior IT security experts, and the Vendor of the Year Award was presented to Sophos in recognition of its high level of customer satisfaction, constant innovation, influence on IT security strategy and its leading position in the endpoint and data protection market.

Sophos’ ongoing contribution to the IT security industry in Australia also contributed to its award win. Sophos has worked closely on many key security projects and initiatives, including the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and Cybersecurity Awareness Week, where Sophos is an active supporter and committee member, running regional events, and working with local businesses.

Sophos also works with leading industry associations including the Australian Computer Society and the Internet Industry Association. Sophos has also recently become a member of the Australian Government’s National Standing Committee on Cloud Computing, advising on security issues and an Industry Code of Best Practice.

Rob Forsyth, director of Sophos Asia Pacific, has been involved with many of these projects along with key members of the Sophos team, working closely with industry and government groups to drive important security initiatives. “The Vendor of the Year Award validates the great work Sophos has done within this region, and we appreciate the recognition by SC Magazine and the panel of judges,� said Forsyth.

Sophos will continue its work in driving awareness around security issues, particularly on a local level, rallying the community and businesses to work together in ensuring Australians understand online safety. “I really do encourage the IT industry to get behind government and community efforts to make Australia safe online,� he continued. “The internet represents massive opportunities for education, and fair development across all social strata, but the risks to our community requires constant vigilance.�

In response to partner and customer demand, Sophos today introduced new Complete Security Suites; Web Protection, Data Protection and Complete Security. These suites offer Sophos partners the tools they need to help their clients address the evolving security challenges IT departments are facing due the consumerization of IT, the rise of advanced persistent threats, and an increase in malware.

“The evolution of Sophos technology and the new ‘Complete Security Suites’ represent a clear and forward-looking vision to manage the advanced multi-vectored threats businesses face,� said Robert Newburn, head of Information Security and Managed Services, Trustmarque. “Security never stands still and neither does Sophos. Through significant in-house development and tactical acquisitions they have built a compelling set of integrated technologies simplifying security management, driving down administration costs and offering customers a mature set of proven tools to protect the endpoint, mobile devices and Gateway.�

The Complete Security Suites combine key functions like endpoint, data and web and email protection, along with mobile device management and protection for Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint. The new offerings give partners a competitive edge in the industry—one vendor, one license, ease of management and deployment. And the array of market-leading solutions creates even more secure environments for their clients at a greater value.

“As a managed service provider, we are our clients’ IT departments, so keeping management costs down is critical to our business,� said Marcus Bearden, vice president of technology, Carceron “The centralized management of Sophos’ Complete Security Suites will reduce our administrative costs, thus reducing costs for our customers—a true win-win. Additionally, they will allow us to offer our clients a better value than an a la carte model while satisfying all their security needs.�

The Complete Security Suites will also shorten the sales cycle for Sophos partners as clients no longer have to evaluate individual solutions in order to solve each security challenge. Instead, they are able to offer solutions that work together—across all points—from a trusted provider.

“Our clients face an ever-changing variety of new security challenges. Since IT managers are already tasked with accomplishing more while using less resources, we need to provide solutions that quickly address all the different aspects of IT security,� said Stephen Merritt, software partner manager, SHI International. “Evaluating multiple security solutions is time consuming for both us and our customers, so the ability to present a single, dynamic and scalable bundle that meets all a customer’s security needs helps keep their focus on other initiatives within an environment they are confident is secure.�

“We recognize that partners are operating in a competitive environment, so they need tools that will help them meet their clients’ demands for stronger security systems,â€? said John Shaw, vice president product management Sophos. “We have built this complete security system for IT because IT teams shouldn’t have to spend time determining which of their point security products is at fault every time they have a problem, only to find that the problem is that the point products don’t work together. With our suites, customers know it’s always Sophos securing them, and they can be confident that they will be backed by both our industry-leading support and our excellent partners.â€?

For additional information on the new Complete Security Suites, please visit: http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/complete.aspx.

According to the recent report from Gartner, Inc, “Market Share Analysis: Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls), Worldwide, 2012,� published on March 28, 2012, Sophos grew its UTM market share by more than 35 percent from 2010 to 2011.

According to Gartner, the overall unified threat management market grew from an estimated $972 million in 2010 to $1.16 billion in 2011, with four-year compound annual growth of 20.7 percent.

Sophos’ growth illustrates the success of its ability to extend its UTM capabilities to a wide range of technologies, such as next-generation firewalls to enable application control, Remote Ethernet Devices to cost effectively secure remote branch offices, or wireless access points to secure wireless connectivity, all of which is managed through a single interface.

“The breadth of our UTM solutions’ capabilities is central to our complete security strategy—protecting networks, endpoint and data at every level of IT infrastructure,â€? said Christian Pijoulat, vice president of Sophos for Western Europe. “The tight integration of capabilities also allows our customers to deploy complete security capabilities while reducing management burden and total cost of ownership. Increasing such benefits for our customers is a primary focus, and we will soon launch new security suites that are not only cost effective, but also include industry-first security features.â€?

In March 2012, Sophos was positioned in the “Leaders� quadrant of Gartner, Inc’s 2012 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management.

About the Magic Quadrant

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

A Sophos on-stand survey* of 214 visitors to Infosecurity Europe – 24-26 April 2012 – has revealed that, out of more than 200 respondents, nearly half (45 percent) use consumer cloud services, such as Dropbox, for work purposes – indicating a growing demand for cloud services in the workplace. However, in the same survey, 64 percent thought that these sorts of consumer cloud services present potential security issues, demonstrating that, while people understand the security risks these services can present, there is a general failure by businesses to control their use.

Other findings from the research included:

• Nearly a third (32 percent) of respondents said that they were allowed to use personal mobile devices for work, but there was no control imposed by the IT department
• Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents said that wireless networks in their place of work were protected but only by a single or small number of passwords

“Businesses need to recognize the huge demand there is for cloud services such as Dropbox and take a proactive approach to incorporating these into security policies,� said Chris Pace, product specialist at Sophos. “Storing, sharing and exchanging files in the cloud for business purposes is seeing a rapid adoption due to the convenience and additional storage capacity it offers to employees. What businesses need to remember however, is that this additional way of dealing with information inherently poses additional security vulnerabilities that need to be addressed before valuable data is compromised.�

“There are some basic limitations of a digital ‘do-it-yourself’ approach. The main concern is that, because the infrastructure of consumer-orientated solutions like Dropbox doesn’t support enterprise-grade requirements, many businesses are currently just handing control to the user, leaving it to them to make a judgement on the risk they are posing to corporate data,â€? argued Pace. “Simple precautions such as web-based policies using URL filtering, application controls that can be applied to cloud products, and data encryption that provides a layer of security across the board, should be introduced as standard if companies wish to reap the benefits of cloud, while mitigating security risks.â€?

Sophos has produced a whitepaper, ‘Fixing Your Dropbox Problem’, offering advice to businesses on the issue.

Pace concluded “the survey also shows that wireless security is an issue. Everyone wants to use it because it’s flexible and easy, allowing laptop users to connect anywhere in the office. But wireless solutions are inherently complex. Instead of businesses setting up a standard wireless router that connects to the internet, with everyone using the same or a limited number of keys, they should be looking for ways to integrate wifi into their existing network security, giving them both better value and control.

*Poll conducted on the Sophos stand at Infosecurity Europe 2012 24-26 April 2012 of 214 people

02 May 2012

Sophos Welcomes Partners to its Global Partner Connections Conferences

Sophoswill welcome hundreds of partners to its global Partner Connections Conferences—to be held this year in Barcelona, Las Vegas and Pattaya, Thailand. Partners will have an opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in complete security and connect with both their peers and Sophos leaders.

The three regional partner conferences begin in May:

• Europe: EMEA Partner Connections 2012: May 8th -10th in Barcelona
• North America: Partner Connections Conference: May 21st – 23rd in Las Vegas
• Asia/Pacific: July 11th – 13th in Pattaya

“Our partners are the driving force behind our success and the annual partner conferences are an opportunity for Sophos senior leaders and channel teams to interact directly with them,� said Mike McGuinness, senior vice president of worldwide sales and field operations, Sophos. “We’re excited to bring together our partners for these interactive events and to empower them with complete security solutions to further grow their businesses.�

About Sophos

More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing complete security solutions that are simple to deploy, manage, and use and that deliver the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, mobile and network security solutions backed by SophosLabs – a global network of threat intelligence centers.

Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

IT security and data protection company Sophos today announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with specialist Value Added Distributor Connector Systems to deliver its security products across New Zealand.

This is Sophos’s first direct distribution agreement in the ANZ region and further cements its commitment to developing and supporting the New Zealand market.

The new partnership will see Connector Systems distributing the entire range of Sophos solutions including Endpoint Security, Encryption and Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Web and Email Protection, Mobile Control and Sophos Network Security and Unified Threat Management (UTM).

Connector Systems will provide direct support to its local resellers with Sophos continuing to be the direct point of contact with local customers, providing them with ongoing technical support.
According to Stuart Fisher, Managing Director of Sophos Asia-Pacific, the partnership will boost Sophos’s offering in the New Zealand market.

“Sophos has selected Connector Systems because of its strong reputation in the New Zealand channel. With more than 30 years experience in distributing IT software solutions and over 1,000 active channel partners, we felt that the company’s presence on the ground and strong network would be the perfect fit for distributing Sophos’s products,� said Fisher. “Customers are demanding more sophisticated complete security solutions and our partnership with Connector Systems will enable Sophos to maximize this growing market.�

The agreement will allow Connector Systems and Sophos to work closely together to provide comprehensive customer support, greater flexibility and immediacy in terms of access to the local team, as well as delivering broader access to Sophos solutions than was previously possible in the region. Connector Systems will also be able to offer its customers a wider range of products and tailored solutions in line with its suite of complementary offerings.

In addition, Sophos will benefit from Connector Systems’ local presence, allowing Sophos better market reach and increased growth opportunities in the region.

Kevin Swainson, General Manager for Security and Telecommunications at Connector Systems said that the Sophos partnership fits very well with the company’s current roster of key partners.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Sophos into our portfolio of ‘best of breed’ brands. The company is a highly regarded global vendor and recognized leader. We are excited about the opportunities that this provides to our resellers and partners to add a more in-depth solution to secure their customers’ networks,� said Swainson.

The distribution agreement will take effect this month with immediate benefits to resellers and customers.