* Cogent releases Managed Security for SMBs
Cogent Communications is entering the managed security business with a firewall/VPN offering for small and midsize businesses.
Called Managed Security, the service comes in two flavors, advanced and premium. Advanced includes a firewall, remote-access VPN, customer support and online access to firewall/VPN reports, for $199 per month. Premium adds content filtering and desktop anti-virus services for $259 per month.
Both services are based on SonicWall TZ 170 firewall/VPN appliances. SonicWall also offers anti-virus and content filtering services.
This service is clearly meant for customers who don’t have the time, staff or inclination to buy their own box and run their own VPN. TZ 170s cost less than $400, so two months’ fee for the advanced service would pay for the device. It’s a customer call whether not having to worry about the device is worth the $2,000 extra it costs in the first year after the hardware is paid off.
Cogent, which sells dedicated Internet access to businesses in the U.S., Canada and Europe, is branching out from just offering Internet access. The company has been on a buying spree, snapping up customers from other ISPs to boost its revenue. But with the declining cost of Internet access lines, the company needs to offer more complex services to keep customers from being lured away by lower-priced providers.
The VPN service is certainly one such way, especially for businesses willing to outsource remote access. For some businesses, $2,400 per year is a good trade-off to having to hire someone to administer the VPN or piling one more chore on an already overloaded admin.
