Dell to sell new ServGate appliances

BOSTON – Security appliance maker ServGate Technologies Inc. next week will announce a new line of products through Dell Inc.’s Web site, providing hardware with integrated antivirus, spam filtering and other security features for small businesses.

The ServGate EdgeForce M Series will be sold to customers in the U.S. exclusively through Dell.com. The line will include seven new products, ranging in price from less than US$1,000 to around $13,000, offering companies a rack-mounted hardware appliance with modular security features that can be chosen a la carte from Dell’s Web site. The goal is to simplify management of network security products for small and medium-sized businesses by integrating more than one security function on a single device, according to Atchison Frazer, vice president of corporate marketing at ServGate.

On Monday, ServGate will announce the general availability of the first appliance in the new family. Dubbed the M30, the so-called “unified threat management” or “UTM” device will sell for $995 and be marketed to companies with between 10 and 35 employees, Frazer said.

The M30 will include virus screening and spam filtering from McAfee Inc. and Web filtering from SurfControl PLC. The product will also offer features such as firewall and VPN (virtual private network), ServGate said.

Customers will be able to select which security features they want through Dell.com. After the initial purchase, new features can be activated using license keys purchased through Dell, Frazer said.

Other M series releases will include the M100, M110, M300, M310, M1100 and M1110, with the high-end devices supporting networks with up to 1,000 users and 1G-bit of network throughput, Frazer said.

The M series will only be available through Dell.com. Dell already sells security hardware and software from a number of vendors, including rival products from Symantec Corp., through its Web site.

ServGate’s hardware will compete with those products for virtual shelf space. However, the company is hoping that the partnership will introduce ServGate’s technology to a wide range of small businesses in the U.S. that use Dell to purchase hardware and peripheral devices, Frazer said.

Currently, only around 25 percent of ServGate’s business is done with customers in the U.S. Sales to China account for between 40 and 50 percent of the company’s business, Frazer said.