Pacific Internet & Cisco to offer SMEs network security

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 10 September 2005 15:31

Your IT - Home IT

Pacific Internet (Australia) and Cisco System are to offer what they claim will be Australia's first managed, end-to-end IP connectivity and security service for SMEs. The service, PacNet SecureSite, is based on the Cisco Integrated Services Router, and has been "designed to remove prohibitive set-up costs which have prevented the take-up of high-quality networks in the past". Pricing starts from $220 per site and includes access, Cisco hardware, support and monitoring. Pacific Internet will offer Cisco 800 and 1800 series Integrated Services Routers as customer premise devices. These include enterprise grade stateful inspection firewalling and an inline intrusion protection system with dynamic signature updates "to help ensure that customer networks are protected from the latest known malicious attacks". Pacific Internet will monitor and manage customers' networks.

Earlier this year Cisco released a new low-end model of its Integrated Services Router with a US list price of $399. This took Cisco further into the SOHO and residential market than any previous products, other than the acquired Linksys range. The company forecast that the product would redefine the market, increase the opportunities for telco service providers to offer managed services and boost the take-up of IP telephony, which is often blocked by firewalls and network address translation.

According to Cisco Australia CEO, Ross Fowler, the first ISR release was "Cisco's most successful product release ever" with sales globally running at $US1 billion per year. He said this success had been mirrored in the local market with 10,000 units sold in Australia and New Zealand.

Fowler said that, 40 percent off ISRs sold had been shipped with embedded security and 20 percent with support for voice and he expected these percentages to increase.