MX Logic Sees Success in Corporate Markets

The anti-spam provider is confident that it—and its ISP clients—will be able to charge corporate customers for anti-spam as the service is recognized as a key element of security.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [July 7, 2004]

On June 28, 2004, Denver, Colo.-based MX Logic announced that IIJ America, the U.S. subsidiary of Japanese ISP IIJ, had chosen the company for its e-mail defense system, which also incorporates anti-virus from both Sophos and McAfee.

IIJ America charges corporate customers a $100 signup fee, plus $0.90 per user per month for a package that includes MX Logic plus an option of adding either or both anti-virus products. Scott Chasin, MX Logic CTO, says that's at the low end of what ISPs are charging their corporate customers (of course, MX Logic provides the service at a wholesale price that's lower than what the company's ISP customers charge retail).

"We track ISP pricing at anywhere from sub one dollar to over three dollars per user per month," Chasin says.

To ISPs accustomed to thinking only about the residential anti-spam market, this may sound like a light of money. "Anti-spam service to corporations is a vibrant and growing market," Chasin notes. "In the consumer market, you'll find anti-spam embedded in the mailbox the ISP offers as a free solution for a consumer. Enterprise offerings, on the other hand, are paid services, and there's a range of pricing."

Chasin feels his company has a real advantage as it reaches out to ISPs with corporate customers. "MX Logic was built by service providers for service providers," he says. "It has hooks for provisioning, Web services, and billing. It provides a turnkey approach for service providers to get into the anti-spam marketplace."

Unlike some competitors, it's not just a repackaged version of software originally designed for the large enterprise. "It's not anti-spam in a box," he says.

Instead, like any value-added service, it's a source of future revenue. "It's a full business in a box solution."

MX Logic is looking towards international markets as it grows. IIJ America's customers are U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese customers—over 100 such subsidiaries --and IIJ America is itself the U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese ISP.

Chasin is therefore pleased to obtain greater visibility in the Japanese market. "This provides us a good gateway into the Japanese market," he enthuses.

He's impressed by the Japanese market. "In the Japanese market, there's more concern about trojans and worms than just spam. That's why IIJ America wants a framework that will continue to provide capabilities and upgrade to meet tomorrow's threats."

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