Security and WAN optimisation vendor Blue Coat Systems has announced the launch of Blue Coat Cloud Service, a new platform for delivering its security products.
The first part of Cloud Service to see the light of day is the Web Security Module, which Blue Coat claims can provide real-time protection from web threats. It can be deployed and managed from anywhere in the world, which will benefit companies with a dispersed workforce relying heavily on portable devices, according to Nigel Hawthorn VP EMEA marketing at Blue Coat.
The Web Security Module utilises Blue Coat’s cloud-based WebPulse platform which tracks eight billion threats per day through its user base of more than 70 million. Blue Coat uses these threat reports to keep its defences up to date and protect users in real-time. Because all the legwork is done on Blue Coat’s system the end user does not need to worry about database, signature or software upgrades, Hawthorn explained.
When a user is out and about and using a laptop the system automatically hooks up to the nearest Blue Coat data centre to reduce latency. Blue Coat has invested in new data centre infrastructure to cope with the additional demand the new services will create, including new facilities in Frankfurt, Germany and Helsinki, Finland.
The platform also contains an in-built reporting feature so admins can detect if any users are infected as well as keep track of the web threats the company is facing. It can also detect if a user is sending confidential or sensitive information to malware servers, the company said.
The Web Security Module is the first product available as part of Blue Coat’s Cloud Service. Eventually the company may look to add WAN optimisation services to it and possibly email and social network security functionality, Hawthorn told CBR.
The platform is also available as an on-premise offering, or a combination of off- and on-premise, which Hawthorn suggests will eventually become the dominant delivery method. "The whole world won’t go to the cloud," he said. "Financial institutions and government departments are unlikely to go there, for example. But companies have to balance the need of workers constantly on the move. A hybrid approach will be the most common method."
Blue Coat Cloud Service will cost $12 per user per year, the company said, and will be availble from April this year. It will be pitched at companies of all sizes, moving Blue Coat away from its traditional large enterprise stronghold towards SMBs. This follows the launch of its ProxyOne appliance earlier this year, which offers web filtering, inline malware and antivirus scanning services aimed at companies that cannot afford a dedicated security employee, the firm told CBR at the time.
