Outlook 2006

Last but not least, security, for its impact on storage, mobility, EAI and convergence, will continue to be a major goldmine for the channel in 2006.

In particular, security offerings that take a range of functionalities and combine them in an appliance, such as united threat management (UTM) solutions, will continue to have strong relevance in 2006, Whitegold sales director, Jonathon Odria, says.

"The big thing this year has been UTM and I think it will be the biggest thing next year," he says. "I think IDC has said UTM devices will outsell firewalls/VPNs by 2008."

Agreeing, Dimension Data’s national security manager Neil Campbell says 2006 will be a big year for convergence within the security market, with functionality that has required many applications or devices to be incorporated into appliances.

"Network-based intrusion prevention systems and end point security were the two technologies that came into their own in 2005," he says. "In 2006, I think we will see an increased number of deployments of network-based intrusion prevention systems as they are mature enough for wide-scale implementation."

While awareness of UTM has grown this year in the market, a lot of confusion remained around a correct UTM approach, Check Point Software Technology, A/NZ country manager, Scott McKinnel, says.

"UTM is a blending of technologies on a single platform with an architectural approach," he says. "That shouldn’t be confused with an 'all in one, one size fits all' box being touted by new entrants to the security industry.’

This year has also seen the channel flock to managed security services, but a lack of commitment has seen these services met with less successful outcomes, McKinnel says. "In 2006, partners need to become specialists and create a dedicated security practice," he says. "It is also critical to decide what products, services and technologies they are going to — or not going to — offer."

This is even more pressing with several telcos starting to gain traction with their own managed services addressing the under-serviced SMB market. "The market is now becoming aware that security cannot be oversimplified, and as a result we will see customers demanding higher levels of expertise from their technology partners," McKinnel says.

For WatchGuard Technologies A/NZ sales director Sven Radavics, 2006 will see consolidation in the managed services area — "as the business community is realising that managed services are not just about device management but, more importantly, about policy, procedure and compliance management," he says.

"We will see some SIs and ISVs really start to differentiate themselves as real security experts in a bid to enhance eroding margins."

For less skilled resellers, the largest opportunity in the year ahead lies in replace ageing firewall technologies, Radavics says.

"The biggest opportunity I see for VARS is to expand beyond the basic product sell and to focus on education and consulting activities like user awareness training, security audits, penetration testing and compliance issues," he says.

With corporate espionage, application security and compliance continuing to grow as internal threats, the need to maintain endpoint security on devices like PCs, notebooks and PDAs will also be a growth area in 2006, Checkpoint’s McKinnel, says.

"The ubiquitous USB device is a classic example of a technology that continually infects PCs, yet corporations have a false sense of security because they have an anti-virus running on the laptop and whilst connected to a corporate network are secured behind a firewall," he says.

For Whitegold’s Odria, anti-spam solutions have also been a big growth area this year, with ID management set to explode in 2006.

"It’s a major issue for any business doing business over the web, you have to make sure people are who they say they are," he says.

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