Security needs constant patching, updating, and upgrading. So do it all in your NOC and sell a hosted service.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [July 12, 2007]

Ramat Gan, Israel-based SofaWare, a Check Point company with U.S. offices in Redwood City, California, has developed an enterprise security management system for service providers of all sizes that have business customers.

"Our goal is to make this platform accessible to both larger MSP partners and regional ISPs as well as to local ISPs, system integrators, VARs, etc.," says Guy Gilam, product marketing manager for SofaWare.

The product, Security Management Portal (SMP) On-Demand, manages the security devices that ISPs install in the networks of business customers. "Our SaaS platform allows the service provider to push updates, to manage devices for the end user, including firewall definitions, VPN communities, anti-virus, and more. It's an evolutionary stepp towards the full fledged service provider model where the ISP has their own software and servers," explains Gilam.

"A small vendor, such as a regional ISP or VAR, can start with the on-demand service. You can start up your business, probe the marketplace, and prove the concept. One you've gained some momentum, you can in-source and fully fledged solution."

As an hosted service, SMP On-Demand can be managed by a browser. It is designed to work with the following devices:

• Check Point Safe@Office
• ZoneAlarm Secure Wireless Router Z100G
• Check Point UTM-1 Edge
• Nokia IP30, IP40, and IP60
• NEC SecureBlade

Through these devices, the service offers managed firewall, VPN, DNS, logging, reporting, web filtering, and more. It offers Vstream anti-virus.

Pricing and availability
The hosted service is available now, priced according to the number of managed devices. Managing 50 devices costs $5,000 per year, with all services except for web filtering included. Each additional 10 devices costs $1,000 per year.

"We're always fine tuning and improving our platform to better cater to the needs of service providers," says Gilam. "So far, feedback has been very, very good."

—End