Aventail Takes Stab At SMB Space

Aventail EX-750 is expected to become available to channel partners later this month. Pricing begins at $6,995.

The device opens up in a new market for Seattle-based Aventail, which previously only sold VPN tools for large companies. Harvey Storms, Aventail's director of channel marketing, said the new device should give VARs sophisticated technology at a reasonable price point, enabling them to expand en masse to new businesses.

"The Aventail EX-750 gives our VARs the opportunity to expand their reach with SSL VPN appliances to smaller [companies] that need the same level of security and access options as larger companies at a lower price," he said.

With the help of Aventail's End Point Control and Anywhere Secure Access Policy technologies, the new clientless SSL VPN incorporates advanced cache cleaning and other data-protection and data-integrity capabilities.

The appliance also features a Web-based user interface that administrators can use to define and manage policies, as well as access a broad range of applications including Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, and software from SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Citrix Systems and others.

The EX-750 also can be accessed through the vendor's Aventail OnDemand, a downloadable Java agent, along with Aventail Connect, a Web-deployed Windows agent.

Solution providers said they are jazzed about the product and the opportunities the appliance should open for them.

"We are excited to now be able to offer our smaller enterprise customers affordable access to Aventail's best-of-breed technology," said Joseph Dell, CTO of Vigilar, Atlanta.

Kevin Jackson, vice president of sales and operations at Corsa Network Technologies, Campbell, Calif., agreed, adding that for him, the tool opens up a whole new world.

"Midtier companies are hungry for solutions," he said. "This gives us something to make them happy."