Managed Security Services Platform - continued

Opportunties for ISPs
According to Vance, ISS is more interested in enabling other parties to provide security services than in delivering those services directly to consumers. "To do a good job as an enabler, we have to be in the business ourselves. We have to talk to customers and gather requirements. We have to understand margins and profits." So, what revenue opportunities can ISPs find in ePatrol?

There is, of course, the traditional VAR channel: ISPs wishing to offer managed security services with limited fuss can resell ePatrol to their own customers.

For ISPs that want to invest themselves further, ISS will wholesale ePatrol to partners like BellSouth. ISS and BellSouth plan to "co-develop" a set of managed security services to be badged and sold by BellSouth Business Internet Services. BellSouth is expected to leverage ePatrol technology integration, expert staff, and education services. In return, ISS gains a massive distribution channel for ePatrol—and one capable of managing individual teleworker sites in the burgeoning SOHO market.

Finally, ISS will partner with an ISP like Embratel to "put a service provider in the managed security services business", according to Vance. Embratel, acquired by MCI WorldCom in 1998, is the largest telecommunications provider in Brazil and operates the largest Internet backbone in Latin America. Embratel plans to deploy a line of Managed Security Services, "powered by ISS." In essence, ISS will teach Embratel how to become a managed security services provider; Embratel will deploy SAFESuite and other ePatrol component products throughout Latin America.

ISS uses market segmentation to make sure that ePatrol direct sales do not compete unfairly against partner ISP managed service offerings. This is a narrow tightrope to walk. Defining partner markets by geography has worked well with U.S. telcos, according to Vance, but ISPs with potentially overlapping national markets represent a new set of challenges. ISS is convinced that the problem is not finding business for everyone, but keeping up with demand, dealing with operational scalability issues, and leveraging technology advances.

Security suite vs. best-of-breed integration
One way that ISS seeks to benefit from changing technology is by positioning ePatrol as a "best of breed" integrator. ISS dislikes the "security suite" approach taken by competitors, notably NAI and AXENT. Instead, ePatrol integrates InternetScanner vulnerability assessment and RealSecure intrusion detection and response with third-party products: policy-based firewall and VPN products from CheckPoint, WatchGuard, and Alteon, authentication services like ACE/Server, SecurID, and SoftID from RSA Security, TrendMicro anti-virus software, WebSense and SurfWatch content filtering products, and NOC monitoring and management tools like HP OpenView and Remedy ARS.

According to Vance, the ePatrol family encompasses eleven discrete offerings, available on alternative platforms to meet both low and high-end market requirements. For example, ePatrol is adding WatchGuard to tap the low-end firewall market where CheckPoint isn't a good fit. "Best-of-breed integration allows ePatrol to be market-focused," says Vance. But Vance also acknowledges that companies tend to build on established relationships. The trick is to remain flexible, while getting the most from prior investments. For example, would ISS ever integrate third-party intrusion detection into ePatrol ? The ePatrol strategy is to follow market demand; but one wonders whether ISS would really do so.

Growth market for Managed Security Services
A white paper, prepared by ISS, quotes IDC market forecasts projecting sustained growth: the Managed Security Services market will triple between 1998 and 2002, exceeding $20B over the next ten years.

While Fortune 1000 companies represent a large chunk of this market, the growth of residential broadband will bring new opportunities in the teleworker and small business market. Vance expects the teleworker-managed services market to be "humongous", driven by enterprise IT departments. Channel partners like BellSouth will be key for ISS to tap the residential market in a cost-effective manner.

"Dot.com" companies represent another growth segment, according to Vance. "These companies have been convinced by their venture capitalists or lawyers that they need security; managed security services are a good answer." Again, ISS can benefit from selling ePatrol, but extends its reach by working with channel partners to meet demand.

For ISPs who are thinking about entering the managed services market, the ISS message seems simple: come on in, the water's fine, we'll help you learn to swim, then add you to our team. The challenge is to keep everyone on the team swimming together, without bumping into each other.

—End

Return to the top of the article
Read related ISP-Planet article: Managed Security, a Primer