Check Point goes in to bat with Nokia

Check Point Software Technologies is continuing its push into the mid-market with a bundled offering that pairs its Express software with Nokia hardware.

The Nokia/Check Point All-in-One Security Gateway would help Check Point resellers compete with other SMB security players offering all-in-one solutions, said Paul Kaspian, product marketing manager at Check Point.

Targeted at customers with up to 100 users, the bundle paired the Express firewall and VPN software with a Nokia IP260 with disk-based storage or Nokia IP265 with flash-based storage, the company said.

Some bundles also included the Check Point SSL Network Extender, which added SSL VPN capabilities to the same appliance.

Scott McKinnel, Australia and New Zealand country manager at Check Point, said the local operation was "picking it up and running with it as we speak".

Reseller margins would be in the double digits and the bundles would be between 15 and 18 percent cheaper than if a partner was to buy the components separately, he claimed.

"It effectively takes two strong brands and brings them down to the SMB market and it offers simplicity of purchase by bundling it all and single SKUing it," he said.

The bundles would be distributed through Express Data and LAN Systems, McKinnel said.