Seattle-based WatchGuard Technologies, a provider of network security and connectivity solutions, unveiled the WatchGuard SSL 100–an all-in-one SSL VPN appliance that gives small businesses a way to provide their remote and mobile workers with network access and application delivery.
“Remote and mobile workers are the front line for many businesses, and key to their productivity and success is having an easy to use, highly secure access to critical data, resources, and applications,” says Bryan Nairn, senior product manager at WatchGuard Technologies. “The new WatchGuard SSL 100 leverages our award-winning and feature-rich enterprise SSL VPN technology, and distills it into a best-in-class, all-in-one appliance.”†
Designed for businesses with up to 500 users, the WatchGuard SSL 100 supports up to 100 concurrent connections. No add-ons or service contracts are required; the appliance comes standard with an array of features that are meant to be easy to use, flexible, and offer high security for less than $2,000.
Because it has its own authentication technology, the SSL 100 does not need to be integrated with other third-party authentication systems such as LDAP, Active Directory, or RADIUS. However, for businesses that already use these types of authentication systems, the WatchGuard appliance interoperates with them as well. It also features logging and reporting capabilities to provide a history of remote user information to help SMBs better manage and adjust remote resources, applications, and infrastructure needs. †
For organizations that want to deliver applications or tools to remote users, the WatchGuard SSL 100 offers delivery of non-native desktop and server applications such as SSH (Secure Shell) and RDP (Remote Desktop). This enables remote workers to securely access and work with applications as if they were in the office from any location worldwide.
For road warriors, WatchGuard provides Desktop Sharing and Remote Assist functionality, which allows administrators or business channel partners to initiate connections to remote devices such as laptops from their helpdesk to diagnose and resolve user issues.
WatchGuard also includes security features for remote workers as well as end-point integrity checking functionality so businesses can create and enforce security policies to ensure connecting devices have firewall protection and up-to-date anti-virus definitions. And, a Web-based access client automatically loads after successful authentication so client applications need not be pre-installed on remote systems.
Additional security can be utilized with onboard two-factor authentication. The WatchGuard SSL 100 can generate SMS-based tokens and one-time password (OTP) to a user’s mobile device, such as a corporate cell phone, smart phone, or wireless PDA. This provides secure two-factor authentication without having to use other third-party authentication solutions. However, for businesses that currently use external authentication methods, the SSL 100 supports more than a dozen different authentication types. †
The WatchGuard SSL 100 supports Microsoft Windows 32-bit and 64-bit clients as well as Microsoft Vista clients, and is Windows 7 ready.
The WatchGuard SSL 100 is $1,999 and will be available to channel partners around the world in June. For more information, go to www.watchguard.com.
