SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 28, 2001 - Underscoring its momentum in the service provider market, Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced a comprehensive initiative to help service providers meet growing enterprise customer demand for managed security and virtual private network (VPN) solutions.
The Cisco Managed Security Services Initiative includes two new programs that have been designed to guide enterprise customers to qualified, best-in-class service providers for outsourced security services, including firewalls, VPNs and intrusion detection systems (IDS).
Programs in the Cisco Managed Security Services Initiative include:
- Cisco Powered Network Managed Security Services Designation: The popular Cisco Powered Network program, which has about 500 members in 52 countries, has been extended to recognize key infrastructure partners who offer managed security services based on Cisco's industry-leading firewall and intrusion detection products. This new service category complements the existing and well-established VPN services category.
- Cisco AVVID Partner Program, Security and VPN Solution Set: The Security and VPN Solutions category of the Cisco AVVID Partner Program (an interoperability testing and co-marketing program based on Cisco AVVID - the Cisco Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) includes a new Outsourced Management & Monitoring section for qualified vendors. This is of particular interest to aggressive new providers who are specifically building their businesses for the delivery of managed security and VPN services.
The Cisco Managed Security Services Initiative is just the latest example of how Cisco is empowering service providers to deliver mission-critical services to enterprise customers. Commercial services for managed firewall, VPN and intrusion detection are becoming readily available on a worldwide basis. Some of Cisco's managed service provider associates include: Activis; Counterpane Internet Security, Inc.; DefendNet Solutions, Inc.; Exodus Communciations, Inc.; Fiberlink Communications; Genuity Inc.; Lightpath, a service of Cablevision Systems Corp.; NetSolve; PaeTec Communications; Riptech, Inc.; SmartPipes, Inc.; and Telenisus Corp. Each of these companies represents at least one of the major managed service types. This includes managed firewall; managed intrusion detection; MPLS-based VPN and all types of IPsec-based VPN; access VPN (remote access); intranet VPN (site-to-site); extranet VPN; customer premises-based VPN; and network-based VPN.
Leading managed service providers are working with Cisco because they recognize the competitive advantage provided by Cisco security solutions. Managed services based on Cisco products and the SAFE security blueprint allow the end-customer to easily migrate to a new deployment model while preserving their confidence in a trusted solution set. This is especially important as enterprise customers increase their dependence on managed services and move to broad deployment.
Benefiting Service Providers and Enterprise Customers
Cisco extended the CPN and Cisco AVVID Partner Program efforts to help managed service providers make more money, add more customers and achieve competitive advantage while validating their expertise in delivering the best-possible managed security offerings for Cisco enterprise customers.
"Cisco is aggressively working to penetrate the managed security services market. The combination of targeted programs and incubation services can help service providers meet an enterprise's preference for a Cisco-based solution," said Allan Carey, senior research analyst, at International Data Corp.
Using the SAFE security blueprint for Cisco AVVID, the Cisco Managed Security Services Initiative also benefits enterprise customers by delivering the peace-of-mind that comes from having proven industry experts overseeing their outsourced managed security requirements. By choosing one of Cisco's qualified service providers, customers can save money on equipment, maintenance and expertise while maximizing the overall security posture of their e-Business networks.
Getting Involved
Getting involved with the Cisco Managed Security Services Initiative programs is simple. To qualify for the Cisco Powered Network Managed Security Services Designation, managed service providers need to meet the qualifications of the Cisco Powered Network program and provide traffic filtering (based on standards such as RFC 1918, RFC 2827 and Committed Access Rate) with at least one of the following services for customers:
- Firewall management (based on the market-leading Cisco Secure PIX Firewall family and the Cisco IOS. firewall feature set)
- Intrusion Detection System (IDS) management (based on Cisco Secure IDS solutions)
To qualify for entry into the Cisco AVVID Partner Program, Security and VPN Solution Set, service providers are reviewed and verified using baseline qualification criteria customized for each service offering. Those criteria can include:
- Cisco partner status and certification
- Personnel qualifications and experience
- Methodologies and tools employed
- Industry recognized staff certifications
- Facilities
- Internal training and development programs
Cisco can assist account teams and all types of providers in their efforts to design and deploy managed security services. This assistance can be especially helpful while prospective partners are in the early stages of service definition or pursuing entry into one of the established ecosystem programs. More information about available assistance can be found at http://www.cisco.com/go/managedsecurity
