Kaspersky eyes enterprise pie with new endpoint security solution

• Touted to protect from advanced malware and cybercrime, and to combat another enemy – complexity
• Company currently has 700 resellers and channel partners in Malaysia, plans to increase network by 30%

KASPERSKY Lab has unveiled its new generation of business security solutions, with an eye toward claiming a significant share of the enterprise security market.
 
Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business is the company’s new flagship security platform for businesses. The company claims it was built to provide the industry’s best protection from advanced malware and cybercrime, and also to combat another common enemy of IT security – complexity.
 
Jimmy Fong (pic, right), channel sales director for Kaspersky Lab South-East Asia, is confident that the new product would be a strategic one for the company in growing its market share, as corporate ICT spending increases.
 
“ICT spending in Malaysia is predicted to surpass the US$10-billion mark in 2013. However, it is a double-edged sword since the more enterprises rely on technology in their operations, the higher their risk and exposure to malware and threats,” he said.
 
“We are positive on the uptake of our new flagship enterprise product in Malaysia as it protects endpoints with just one console, one platform and with one competitive cost,” he added.
 
Fong shared that the 65% to 70% of the company’s revenue from business customers in Malaysia over the last two years have come from the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment, but said he expects that ratio to shift in the coming years to a 50-50 split with the introduction of the new endpoint security suite.
 
“In the past, despite being a very consumer-centric company, 30% of our business has been via business-to-business channels without us actively pushing in the market,” he claimed.
 
In line with its efforts to capture a larger share of the enterprise market, Kaspersky intends to increase its current network in Malaysia of approximately 700 resellers and channel partners by 30% this year.
 
Bryan Sat, Kaspersky Lab business development manager for South-East Asia, said that the company’s enterprise strategy is to “keep things simple,” intending to first understand a customer’s pain-points before offering a solution.
 
“Our vision for the next two years is to be one of the top five vendors in the market for enterprise security. Key to accomplishing that will be the partnerships we have with local systems integrators and providing excellent channel support to our partners to enable (them) to deliver true business value,” he said.
 
According to Fong, cyber-espionage is becoming the most serious threat there is for businesses, and just about any enterprise can be attacked, regardless of its size or market share.
 
All organizations have data that’s valuable to cybercriminals, which in turn can be used as a “back door” to reach other companies. An intrusion may come either from a cyber-criminal seeking personal enrichment, or a nation state looking to steal proprietary or classified information.
 
Kaspersky Lab detects 200,000 new malware daily, an indication of how rampant malware is. As more organizations allow employees to use their own smartphones and tablets as business tools, the threat of attacks on corporate networks will increase if the endpoints, including endpoints that are personal devices, are not well protected, the company said.
 
“Every decision maker should keep all this in mind when building a company’s IT security infrastructure,” Fong added.
 
One solution to rule them all?
 
According to Andrey Pozhogin (above pic, left), senior product launch manager for Kaspersky Lab, it is not a case of there being no other security solution in the market, but rather a current lack of interoperability between security software by multiple vendors.
 
“It is difficult to integrate; many enterprises end up taking bits and pieces of software from a variety of places. Security layers need to be integrated but it can’t be done perfectly and you need it to be as close to perfect as you can get,” he said.
 
Pozhogin shared that Kaspersky made a conscious decision, in developing its solution, to build the entire product from the ground up as a single, unified platform from a single code-base.
 
“The new Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business a true testament to the dedication of our brilliant teams of R&D and Security Research.  In an industry where acquisition and consolidation has become the norm, building these technologies from the ground-up was certainly not the easiest path, but in the end, we believe our product s the best possible protection for our customers,” he added.
 
To simplify and secure business of all sizes, Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business comes with a number of new and improved technologies that allow IT administrators to see, control, and protect their network.
 
These features include:

• Mobile security and device management – Kaspersky Lab lets administrators secure and protect data, even on employees’ own smartphones and tablets.  Mobile endpoint protection can be deployed remotely through centralized Mobile Device Management (MDM).

• Data encryption – Secure individual files, folders, or full-disks, with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256 bit encryption to ensure information remains secure in the event of accidental device loss or theft.  Kaspersky Lab’s new encryption technology can also be enforced on peripheral devices, removable drives, files, and folders, and is transparent to users and applications while rendering data unreadable to cyber-criminals.

• Endpoint control tools – Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business is designed to control application usage through policies and dynamic whitelisting.  Administrators can also create custom policies around removable storage devices, USB storage devices and printers, and create on-device web policies ensure users browse the Internet safely whether on the corporate network or at home.

• Systems management – An array of new systems configuration, deployment and management tools included in Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business makes time-consuming IT tasks like OS installation, network inventory, system provisioning, remote administration, network admission control (NAC) and license management both faster and less complex.  Automated vulnerability scanning and patch management ensures users and administrators are always up-to-date and fully notified about critical security exposures.

• All managed from Kaspersky Lab’s Security Center - The powerful administrative console unifies every aspect of Kaspersky Lab’s endpoint, file server and virtual infrastructure protection under one ‘pane of glass.’

• Industry-leading anti-malware – Kaspersky Lab’s own proven blend of on-premise, proactive and cloud-based methods for detecting malware keeps users connected to the latest threats discovered by our team of experts, the company claims.

Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business Available is for purchase today in specialized bundles for businesses of all sizes. For more information, click here.
 
Related Stories:
 
Kaspersky Lab, D-Link to provide ‘multi-layered defense’
 
Kaspersky opens regional center, launches security appliance
 
SMBs coming round to IT security: Symantec
 
Absolute Software launches regional HQ in Malaysia
 

For more technology news and the latest updates, follow @dnewsasia on Twitter or Like us on Facebook.