News
News Categories

Sophos Equips Businesses to Go Virtual

By Joy Hou - on 15 Feb 2011, 12:15am

Sophos Equips Businesses to Go Virtual

Sophos today announced the availability of its Virtual Email Security Appliance - the first virtual security appliance to bring strong security, data protection, and administration ease to the latest VMware virtual environments. This new virtual appliance delivers on the growing popularity of businesses seeking cost savings, responsiveness, scalability, and continuity through virtualization from a trusted brand in the industry.

A member of the highly acclaimed Sophos Email Security andData Protection product line, the new virtual email appliance brings the same integrated protection and simplified management of Sophos's hardware appliances to VMWare virtualized environments – providing a uniquely integrated solution that combines data loss prevention (DLP) and email encryption withproactive spam and malware protection.

Benefits of New Sophos Virtual Email Security Appliances

  • Rapid provisioning, responsiveness, and change management using pre-configured virtual machine profiles and a standard Open Virtualization Format (OVF)distribution file
  • Proactive threat protection via Sophos's Behavioral Genotype technology that provides unique anti-malware detection of zero-day threats
  • Zero setup, offline accessible data protection with integrated SPX email encryption and DLP utilizing pre-packaged sensitive data intelligence supplied and updated via SophosLabs
  • Clutter-free inboxes with Sophos anti-spam technologies such as Sender Genotype and Live in-the-cloud anti-spam lookups that block over 99% of spam
  • Automation of most routine maintenance tasks with Sophos's unique managed appliance experience service that includes automatic updates, monitoring, alerting, and remote remediation if needed
  • Improved IT efficiency through a streamlined 3-clicks-to-anywhere task-based administration interface that relies on wizards to make policy and configuration simple
  • Complete interoperability and clustering with Sophos's hardware appliances and otherSophos security products

The new virtual email appliance is one of many Sophos initiatives focused on supporting the virtualized data center and endpoints with additional virtual appliance products slated for later this year.

Sophos customers and analysts such as Gartner agree that virtualization is much more than a tactical cost-cutting trend. Gartner aptly notes that virtualization is creating a strategic shift in overall IT modernization with virtual machines improving responsiveness and delivery within an enterprise 10, 20, or even 30 times faster than traditional hardware and software server solutions.

According to VMWare, server virtualization allows organizations to be more efficient reducing hardware and operating costs by as much as 50% and energy costs by 80% all while reducing the time it takes to provision new servers by up to 70%.

In 2010, the Sophos Email Security Appliance was recognized by several independent industry test centers. NetworkWorld reviewers concluded that Sophos has a "clear vision for the future of DLP" and a "very practical understanding of the role of DLP in a modern organization." SC Magazine named the Sophos Email Security Appliance as the 'Best Buy' of the group test, which included Fortinet, McAfee, PGP, Proofpoint, Trend Micro, and several others. Sophos earned a 5-out-of-five stars rating for its top-notch features, ease of use, performance, documentation, support, and value for the money.

Availability and Pricing

The Sophos Virtual Email Appliance is sold on a per user subscription license (multi-year, sector, and bundle discounts apply) and includes updates, and 24x7x365 technical support. The pricing structure mirrors that of the physical appliance minus the cost of the hardware cost.

Existing Email Security Appliance customers can tap this latest virtual offering using their existing email appliance license.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.