Kensington's ClickSafe Puts The Whammy On Notebook Thieves

With laptops being stolen at a rate of one every 53 seconds, Kensington Computer Products Group is hoping to put the whammy on notebook thieves with a $49.99 quick-click key lock.

The ClickSafe product, the first new iteration of the landmark Kensington product in 17 years, reduces the number of steps it takes to lock up a notebook from five to a single click, said Greg Avera, vice president of U.S. Sales for the Redwood Shores, Calif.-headquartered Kensington. The older version of the product required users to carefully line up the lock device before locking up a notebook.

Avera says the new ClickSafe product represents a breakthrough in stopping thefts of notebook from workplaces.

The workplace ranks second behind smash and grab jobs from autos as the place where most notebook thefts occur.

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"This is the easiest and simplest thing a solution provider can do to make sure someone can't walk away with a notebook from a business," said Avera.

Avera says the device presents solution providers with a robust margin opportunity on both the product and services associated with implementing lock rollouts for businesses. "There is as much gross margin in the locks as there is in the notebooks they are securing," he said.

The product also represents a significant opportunity for solution providers who are increasingly providing both information technology and physical security solutions for their customers, said Avera. Many solution providers have expanded their security portfolios to include physical security solutions including audiovisual surveillance solutions.

The simpler physical lock device is aimed at answering the complaints of what Kensington says is 46 percent of users who indicate that laptop locks are too difficult to use.

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Robert Humphrey, director of security products for Kensington, says the new one step lock removes the frustration factor that stopped some employees from locking up their notebooks. "This is a no-hassle lock for notebooks," says Humphrey.

International Data Corp., a Framingham, Mass. market research firm, estimates that less than 50 percent of all businesses issue notebook locks and that only 36 percent are used properly.

With a battle cry of "Click it to Keep It," Kensington is targeting solution providers serving cost-conscious small medium businesses and enterprises. "It all comes down to compliance," said Avera. "This improves the first line of defense for notebooks.

Raj Patel, senior purchasing manager for Future Computing Solutions, a Yorba Linda , Calif. Kensington partner, said he gives Kensington a "10 out of 10" on its product offerings and a "9 out of 10" for its solution provider program.

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"Kensington always has well-designed and well-engineered products," he said. "And dealing with Kensington is a piece of cake compared to other manufacturers."

Future Computing already has sold the older version of the ClickSafe lock to Fortune 1000 customers and colleges and is looking forward to adding the new product to its portfolio, said Patel.

As for margin opportunities around the Kensington product line, Patel said: "There is always margin in accessories. It all comes down to how you are helping customers solve a problem."

Kensington is launching an all out channel offensive to get solution providers to carry the new product line, said Humphrey.

The computer product accessories vendor is providing a wide variety of sales tools including sales guides, a pin up security reference guide and online tools including YouTube videos.

Next: One User's True Crime Notebook Tale

Kensington has even launched a clickittokeepit.com website aimed at urging users to lock up notebooks with ClickSafe in what the company calls a move to turn user "defiance into compliance."

The Website urges users to tell their true crime notebook tale. One user complained that her HP Pavillion laptop was stolen from her home by a friend during a cocktail party. "Not only did I have major a party mess to clean up, but I also had a lot explaining to do at work," wrote Aubrey in her online post. "The IT manager was NOT happy! I wasn’t happy either. I lost some important documents that were not backed up and have an unknown friend I can’t trust."

Kensington is also backing up its reseller effort with a direct marketing campaign, telesales efforts and end user regional events aimed at driving leads that will be funneled to partners, said Humprey.

The new ClickSafe product is available through distribution from Ingram Micro, Tech Data and Synnex.