While the basic filtering software has been updated, and a new network protocol manager included, the main enhancements in v5 come in the form of a couple of new bolt-on optional modules – the client application manager (CAM) and bandwidth optimizer.
Before we were only managing content seen through the browser, now we’re managing all content users can see through the desktop, said Websense product manager Eric Rohy said. We’re really changing the definition of employee internet management.
The company is hoping the modules will help it keep up the revenue growth it has seen over the last twelve months, and that is reflected in the pricing. CAM will sell for about $10 per seat per year, the bandwidth optimizer for $5, which feasibly doubles the average $15 to $20 license Websense usually charges.
Websense isn’t saying how many of its current and future customers it expects will take the modules. It has said in the past that 20% of its customers purchase some premium parts of its URL database, which carry additional fees.
CAM is the largest addition to the suite. It’s client software that prevents users from executing unauthorized applications, or from executing authorized applications at unauthorized times, that works with server-side policies.
Rohy said the initial release of v5 will recognize 70,000 applications using hashing functions to create signatures that are not as easy to tamper with as changing a filename. It can also be configured to block all unrecognized executables (which has obvious security benefits).
The bandwidth optimizer is designed to do what it says on the tin. Administrators can set up limits for how much bandwidth can be consumed by any particular user, group, application or protocol in a given period, freeing up space for mission-critical uses. Streaming may be sacrificed for CRM, for example.
The suite also has new application-level protocol management features, that allow admins to block applications like instant messaging or file-sharing if they want to. The software can also now block selected file types, which could, for example, allow a user to visit a TV news web site but not to receive streams from it.
One gap in Websense’s product line is email content filtering, which is offered by rivals such as SurfControl Plc, as well as a plethora of recent anti-spam software startups and email service providers. The company has chosen instead to partner with Tumbleweed Communications Corp on a referral sales basis.
Source: Computerwire
