All-In-One Protection Born Of CA's Blend Of PestPatrol, eTrust

Integrated Threat Management version 8 creates a single-console product for both antispyware and antivirus tools—one that operates using a single agent, one update mechanism and one set of Web-based reporting tools, said Sam Curry, vice president of threat management at CA, Islandia, N.Y.

PestPatrol now will be available only through the existing distributor channels of the Threat Management Suite, which up until version 8 was a mixture of eTrust antivirus tools, Curry said. The change increases the incentive for CA&'s direct sales force to enlist a partner when selling PestPatrol. “The channel for us is really the way for this product to succeed,” Curry said.

Distributors Tech Data, Ingram Micro, Synnex and D&H Distributing will sell version 8 of the Threat Management Suite, which also will be available online at CA&'s Consumer Online Store, hosted by Digital River, said Zoe Meyer, director of partner program management for security at CA.

CA is offering partners discounts of up to 50 percent on the new suite if they displace similar products from security software competitors Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and others, Curry said. The suite starts at about $60.

One of the best features of CA&'s Integrated Threat Management suite is that CA&'s antivirus database continues to remotely update the threat signatures used by the product even if a customer does not upgrade to newer versions as they arrive, said Leonard Kaplan, president of CDML Computer Services, Fresh Meadows, N.Y. This is a “huge plus” for CDML&'s SMB customers, many of whom consider routine upgrades unnecessary, he said.

CA last week promoted longtime senior vice president of product development Mark Barrenechea to executive vice president and CTO. Yogesh Gupta, CA&'s CTO since August 2000, was reassigned to the acquisitions team as senior vice president of business development, according to the vendor.