IBM Internet Security Systems Positioned in Leaders Quadrant for 1H07 Managed Security Services Providers Magic Quadrant

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that its Internet Security Systems (ISS) division has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant in the North America Managed Security Services Providers (MSSPs) Magic Quadrant for the first half of 2007. According to the Gartner report, “leaders” in the North American MSSPs Magic Quadrant are vendors who have “significant ’mind share’ among enterprises looking to buy an MSS from pure-play security vendors, and they generally receive positive reports on service and performance from Gartner clients. Vendors in the Leaders quadrant are typically appropriate options for enterprises requiring frequent interaction with the MSSP for analyst expertise and advice, portal-based correlation and workflow support, and flexible reporting options.”(1)

According to the Magic Quadrant report: “The managed security services market in North America generated revenue of approximately $500 million in 2006, and Gartner estimates that revenue will grow about 19 percent in 2007.”(1)
“I believe that being positioned in the leaders quadrant in Gartner’s MSSPs Magic Quadrant affirms that IBM ISS consistently meets the needs of our customers even as the online threat landscape continues to evolve on a daily basis,” said Jason Hilling, Enterprise Services Business Line Executive with IBM Internet Security Systems. “As part of IBM, Internet Security Systems brings value to clients by combining our comprehensive, preemptive security technology, services and intelligence with IBM’s broad services portfolio and expertise, innovative research and global reach.”

IBM Internet Security Systems is continually innovating to meet the needs of clients. Since 2006, IBM ISS has:

Laid the foundation for security services on demand with the introduction of its Virtual Security Operations Center (Virtual-SOC). The Virtual-SOC is designed to offer customers a services-based approach for implementing security virtually wherever, whenever and however they need it in a rapid and cost-effective manner.
Unveiled Security Event and Log Management services to help companies more easily meet compliance requirements, while avoiding the high upfront costs and implementation timeframes typically associated with security information and event management products.
Expanded its line of Managed Security Services to include a Unified Threat Management (UTM) service, a shared intrusion prevention system (IPS) service and a shared firewall service. These services are designed to help lower costs and simplify security purchasing, maintenance and management, making them attractive options for small and medium businesses (SMBs) and remote/branch offices of larger companies.
Incorporated a new e-mail security service into its portfolio. The new service is designed to help keep small- to medium-sized companies ahead of e-mail borne threats, including spam, viruses, phishing attacks, inappropriate content and data leakage. The service works transparently without any upfront investment or need to install hardware or software.
Enhanced its flagship intrusion prevention system product line to accommodate SMBs and remote/branch offices on one end of the spectrum and meet the needs of very large enterprises and carriers on the other end.
Through its Managed Security Services (MSS) group, IBM ISS offers a comprehensive range of services for various security vendors and technologies including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, unified threat management (UTM), security event and log management, vulnerability management, e-mail and Web security. IBM ISS also offers its MSS customers a Managed Protection Services option featuring the industry’s only money-back guarantee.

In conjunction with the IBM ISS Professional Security Services group, the MSS team also offers consulting, regulatory compliance and emergency response services to its customers, as well as value-added security intelligence updates from the IBM X-Force® research and development team. In addition to managing its own security offerings, IBM ISS also supports and manages products from third-party vendors, which can help maximize the value of customers’ existing security investments.

Managed Security Services complement IBM ISS’ Proventia® product line, a multi-layered security solution intended to provide preemptive protection from network- and host-based attacks before they impact business assets. For additional information on IBM ISS Managed Security Services, please go to: http://www.iss.net/services