A visionary and pioneer in the security-appliance marketplace since 1996, WatchGuard  Technologies today, is recognized as an advanced technology leader of network-security solutions, with over 500,000 award-winning appliances installed in more than 150 countries.

Consistently named by IDC, Infonetics and Frost & Sullivan as a market leader for SME security appliances, WatchGuard is dedicated to protecting SMEs by providing advanced-security features in its appliances at affordable prices - ensuring all solutions are fully upgradeable to accommodate new features and meet new threats as they emerge. 

Widely accepted as a strong, viable technology provider for secure remote access, the company recently created a stir in the network-security industry with its plan to introduce next-generation UTM solutions with extensible threat management (XTM) and connectivity capabilities. With WatchGuard's increasing market share - evident in its 190 per cent increase in appliance shipments in 2007, most of which were UTMs - reflecting the industry's acceptance of UTM solutions, the company has paved the way for its new XTM platform. WatchGuard's XTM line is set to create storm this year itself.

Steve Fallin, director, Rapid Response Team WatchGuard Technologies, shares the company's vision and ideas on XTM with Asian Channels.

What exactly is XTM according to WatchGuard? 

Extensibility, the "X" in XTM means having the ability to add on to or extend threat-management capabilities.

WatchGuard's XTM vision is built upon the premise that network security solutions fundamentally need to have this quality. XTM appliances must be able to proactively adapt to dynamic network environments, as well as protect against the litany of known and unknown, future threats. With extensible protection, as a business grows, so does its security platform.

WatchGuard's XTM stands for the extensibility needed for best practices in network-security management and control. Network administrators do not have cookie-cutter environments and have to deal with a constant barrage of threats - known and unknown. Each environment is unique and, therefore, has individualized needs and concerns, depending upon the business and the industry. WatchGuard recognizes this and builds extensibility into its network management and user control features, so that administrators can maximize their XTM investments, which are customized to best suit their network and user needs.

XTM also represents extensible choice. Not only do XTM appliances need to fully interoperate and support mixed network infrastructures, but they need the inherent security technology to be flexible, too. This way, administrators can pick and choose the security service that they want from the XTM device. For example, some may want anti-virus (AV) protection provided at a different source other than the gateway. Now, an administrator can turn "off" the AV protection at the XTM appliance, whilst maintaining full firewall, IPS/IDS as well as web content filtering at the network gateway. With WatchGuard's XTM, the customer has a choice of security services.

XTM thus provides extensible ownership and leads the industry with software upgradeable UTM devices.

This allows businesses to maintain high security without having to rip out and replace older devices - giving unmatched asset protection and lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO). We will continue to provide this extended life and functionality with our next-generation XTM appliances.

Lastly, the WatchGuard XTM vision opens the door to extensible market opportunities. We envision the uptake of a new class of managed security service providers (MSSPs), who wish to provide highly reliable, "in the cloud", managed-security services to their customers. WatchGuard also foresees the possibility of providing a software platform - similar to that of other extensible applications, such as XML - so that third-party developers can create customized security applications that are tailor-made for our XTM appliances.

What makes XTM stand out in the network security arena? What are its main benefits?

Extensible security means giving customers' unparalleled security against the next wave of unknown threats, giving customers uncompromised network management and user control, and giving customers unbridled flexibility and choice. Combining these benefits, WatchGuard is uniquely positioned to give businesses around the world the peace of mind of knowing that their networks as well as their employees' work and data is highly secure with our XTM solutions.

WatchGuard's extensible components include:

• Extensible protection to remain secure against the unknown future threats
• Extensible management for easy control in varied environments
• Extensible choice for interoperability and choice of security services, whilst maintaining exceptional standards of protection
• Extensible ownership through upgradeable devices, thereby offering extended product  life and high functionality

Why do you think XTM is so necessary? Do you think XTM will change the face of network security? 

By 2007, the UTM market had grown approximately 35 per cent year-over-year, to reach US$1.216 billion. By 2008, industry analysts estimate that sales of UTM appliances will surpass traditional firewall/VPN solutions. By 2010, sales of UTM devices are expected to exceed US $2.5 billion - creating infinite opportunities for the next-generation UTM solutions.

XTM solutions have the capability to change the industry landscape and redefine network security. As discussed above, they address needs not currently met by the prevailing UTM solutions.  Although UTMs offer considerable deployment flexibility, the increasingly sophisticated and decreasingly conspicuous threats in an evolving environment require scalable appliances that can be modified, updated and customised so that high security is always maintained. The changing perimeter of the workplace calls for robust security technology to face the "x" factor of unknown threats.

Tell me about WatchGuard and its XTM vision and strategy? How does this strategy tie up with your overall business strategy and vision?

WatchGuard Technologies, a pioneer of firewall technology since 1996, was an early innovator of UTM solutions, and was one of the first to lead the industry with high-performance UTM offerings. XTM is the next generation of UTM technology, predicated upon the substantive expansion of three foundational elements: more security; greater networking capabilities; and more management flexibility.

With threat management being constantly challenged and redefined, XTMs are much-needed security solutions in today's dynamic environment. For business decision makers, XTM offers an ideal cache of reliable security and superior TCO. XTM allows businesses to utilise mobility, consumer technologies, Web 2.0, and other new business applications in a highly secure manner. Because of the inherent flexibility found in XTM, these solutions will help businesses address the needs of regulatory compliance and future changes that are bound to come.         

What are the key drivers of this strategy and vision?

Threats are becoming more sophisticated and less conspicuous. This leaves networks vulnerable to extremely targeted attacks that include blended threats, such as phishing e-mails with malware payloads. The challenge is to give businesses threat-management solutions that not only adapt, but can proactively address future and unknown threats so that the highest security is always maintained.

Adding to this, most network administrators work in mixed-network environments of disparate infrastructure components and solutions. For these administrators, it is imperative to have a flexible and scalable gateway-security appliance that can be modified, updated and customized to meet their particular security profiles and postures. The XTM family will enable customers to choose exactly which security functions they want the device to perform, rather than being forced into buying bundles of capabilities, some of which may not be of interest.

What are your plans for this strategy especially in the Asia Pacific? Are you targeting XTM at certain verticals, sectors and/or markets? Do you think it will be a major attraction to both enterprises as well as SMBs?

WatchGuard's recent vision to introduce next-generation UTM solutions with XTM and connectivity capabilities is keeping the company a step ahead in this competitive marketplace.  

Creating and designing network-security solutions - which have the ability to proactively adapt to dynamic network environments and protect against unknown threats - WatchGuard's XTM products ensure maximized productivity, with seamless, robust authentication for identity management and powerful endpoint protection for uncompromised network connections.  With vastly expanded security features and functionality, networking capabilities and management flexibility, as well as automated processes, WatchGuard's XTM solutions are suited for SMEs and enterprises alike across varied sectors and verticals - purpose built to thwart attacks from today's smarter malware and botnets. 

How do your partners in the Asia Pacific especially fit in with this strategy? 

WatchGuard's partners service organizations that have been asking for some of the capabilities embodied by XTM.  APAC buyers are amongst the most discerning in the world. Our two-tiered, partner-centric sales model is designed to attract an expansive network of resellers focused on network-security solutions. Our tier-one distributors carry our full range of products and services to specialized and value-added resellers across the region - increasing our penetration in the SME and enterprise marketplace. We are growing our regional revenue at around 20 per cent per year with Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines as our key Asian markets. We are currently recruiting more resellers to boost our UTM and XTM sales.

In addition, we are particularly interested in adding resellers with strong technical networking capabilities or those with security expertise.

You'll be announcing new products that will build on your XTM vision. Can you please elaborate on this? 

Currently, WatchGuard's firmware release for Peak, Core and Edge appliances have built-in extensibility, so users can leverage this innovative technology today!  Later this year, WatchGuard plans to release XTM-branded solutions that incorporate more XTM feature sets - addressing extensible threats (the next generation of blended-security threats), having extensible management (improved scalability and greater granular control), offering extensible choice (network interoperability and feature-set customization), and ensuring extensible ownership (network interoperability, total cost of ownership and return on investment). Global markets for security solutions are constantly evolving. WatchGuard monitors these markets to ensure that we are aware of the optimal time for the introduction of new products and platforms.

What can we expect over the next 1 year from XTM and WatchGuard? 

We have established a trajectory that portends more capabilities and more performance.  We will be announcing our new XTM-branded products when the time is right.

Are there any major challenges when it comes to XTM in Asia? If yes, how do you think these challenges can be overcome?

The XTM approach blends seamlessly with the needs of Asian businesses today. 

For the discerning, skeptical buyer, it provides a sensible and innovative approach to meeting the region's need for flexible, easy-to-use, high-value security solutions. Leading the charge with its pioneering XTM solutions, WatchGuard will continue to create a buzz in the Asian network-security market.◊