Technology
Written by Alma Anonas-Carpio / Correspondent
Thursday, 02 July 2009 22:21

IF big business needs to secure information technology (IT) functions and data, so must the smaller businesses that make up over 90 percent of firms in the Philippines.

Antivirus software maker and storage specialist Symantec Corp. recently expanded its portfolio of security offerings to include products suited for small and medium enterprises with little or no dedicated IT staff.

Quick to install and easy to use, Symantec’s Protection Suites for small business and enterprise customers comes with web security technology as a result of Symantec’s acquisition of Mi5 Networks, a privately held web security company.

Mi5 offers an innovative approach to Internet gateway security by providing streaming technology which examines traffic into and out of their clients’ online IT systems. Symantec combined this technology with its own endpoint security solutions to provide protection at the most common entry-points to secure organizations from the evolving threat of Internet-spread malware attacks.

“Our customers and partners have made it clear that security solutions that tie together multiple layers of protection offer the highest return on investment for the lowest cost of investment,” Symantec Enterprise Security Group senior vice president Francis deSouza said. “With the acquisition of Mi5’s web security technology, Symantec is further addressing the fastest-growing path for malware to infect network environments.”

The firm’s protection software suite for small businesses is described by the firm in its product specification materials as an “easy-to-use suite that protects critical business assets by securing them against today’s malware and spam threats by rapidly recovering client computer systems.”

The new software also provides “complete protection, creating a secure environment where computer system failure, malware and spam risks are identified and addressed immediately.” It also comes with a sofware installation wizard and easy-to-use graphic user interface to simplify the deployment of the software and reduce the level of expertise needed to use it.

This enterprise-level software suite provides multiple layers of protection across multiple platforms and enables the quick recovery of individual files and folders that may be lost temporarily in the event of system loss or failure to minimize downtime. This combination of security and system recovery features, Symantec said in a statement, “[enables] businesses to completely protect, easily manage and automatically control their assets.”

Symantec Enterprise Security Group vice president Art Gilliland noted that, “as the number and sophistication of web-based viruses and malicious code continues to rise, small businesses need to be secured with more than just traditional antivirus technology.”

Gilliland said by “prioritizing optimal performance and low costs,” Symantec is “offering the same level of protection provided to large global businesses with a product that is designed to meet the specific needs of smaller environments.”

* Published in BusinessMirror