WatchGuard Beefs Up SMB Portfolio With New Appliances

Security solution specialist WatchGuard Technologies has bolstered its its small and midsize business (SMB) and branch-office offerings after adding two unified threat management (UTM) appliances – the XTM 25 and XTM 26.

Aimed at small businesses, wireless hotspots and branch offices, the XTM 25 and 26 appliances offer Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) inspection, voice over IP support, and options for Application Control and other WatchGuard security services, such as WebBlocker, spamBlocker, Gateway Antivirus, Intrusion Prevention Service, Reputation Enabled Defense and LiveSecurity Service.

UTM Appliances

The XTM 25 and XTM 26 offer a variety of security features and advanced networking technologies, including identity-based firewalling plus WatchGuard’s unique proxy technology, designed to provide full protection against sophisticated attacks and integrated VPN, which can be used to create secure VPN tunnels for Apple iPad, iPhone and other iOS-based devices, or used to enable secure remote connectivity for mobile employees.

The appliances will be available in March from authorised WatchGuard channel partners. The list price for the XTM 25 begins at $440 (£277), while the XTM 26 starts at $635 (£400). Wireless versions are also available, starting at $550 (£347).

Both WatchGuard XTM 25 and 26 appliances support next-generation firewall functionality via Application Control, which allows businesses to use Web 2.0 apps, while keeping employees focused on work rather than playing social media-based games, and the appliances come armed with the latest in intrusion prevention, spam-blocking and gateway antivirus capabilities. The WatchGuard XTM 25 and 26 appliances are designed to keep malware, spyware, viruses, worms and hackers out of small-business networks.

“Small businesses need more from their firewall today than ever before,” said Tim Helming, director of product management at WatchGuard Technologies. “The new XTM 25 and 26 UTM appliances give small businesses enterprise-class protection and advanced business productivity features that are typically seen in appliances that cost thousands of dollars more.”

Cloud Defence

Cloud-based protection helps keep small-business networks running fast and efficiently, as both XTM 25 and 26 models can use the company’s Reputation Enabled Defense service, which is a cloud-based IP and URL reputation solution that stops threats in the cloud before they hit the network edge.

The models include five 1GbE ports for faster link speeds, and wireless models have dual-band 802.11/n technologies for greater wireless speed and responsiveness. In addition, real-time monitoring, secure logging and more than 65 report templates give businesses insight as to what is going in and out of their network and by whom.

“Many small businesses face the same challenges as large organisations – how to keep data, applications and their network safe,” Helming said. “With WatchGuard, it doesn’t matter if your business has 10 or 10,000 employees; they all get the same levels of advanced, next-generation threat protection at price points that simply can’t be beat.”

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