Westcon Group Helps Market Address Top Security Challenges with Critical Watch

North American Distribution Agreement Empowers Resellers to Generate New Revenues 

IPS Optimizer™ Solution Aligns with HP TippingPoint® to Map Network Vulnerabilities 

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Sept. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Further driving its leadership position as the value-added distributor of security, unified communications, network infrastructure, and data center solutions, Westcon Group today announced a North American distribution agreement with Critical Watch.  The deal expands Westcon's extensive Security Solution Practice portfolio – backed by an award-winning risk mitigation solution.

Critical Watch has specifically designed a solution to mitigate the market's top security threats and minimize costs associated with network breaches. IPS Optimizer™ connects directly to the HP TippingPoint^® Security Management System (SMS) and automatically maps network vulnerabilities to the right IPS filters.

"The cost of data breaches has never been higher. Yet despite the abundance of data, many don't have the right tools to tackle these problems," said Andrew Warren, VP of Westcon Security Solutions, Westcon Group North America. "This opens up a whole new business opportunity for resellers to deliver solutions specifically tailored to take these threats head-on.  Given that Critical Watch directly connects to the TippingPoint solution, it represents a significant addition to our focused portfolio."

"Westcon is a strong partner for our HP Security Solutions business," said Joe Bonnell, Founder and CEO of Alchemy Security. "This is a great fit for our integration and professional services customers looking to maximize their investment in HP TippingPoint IPS."

IPS Optimizer automatically analyzes each filter setting – across every profile – then compares it to network vulnerabilities. Filter setting changes are easily made from the user interface and published directly to the SMS.  The product offers full support for Qualys^® Qualysguard^®, McAfee^® Foundscan^®, Rapid7_® Nexpose^®, Nessus^® and FusionVM^®. 

"One of the most important initiatives for companies today is risk mitigation – and that starts with getting the most out of every security technology investment; interconnecting and correlating data across solutions is a high priority," said Eva Bunker, CEO at Critical Watch.  "IPS Optimizer helps companies understand and harness the power of relevant security data to immediately address both short- and long-term threats.  Based on Westcon's deep understanding of the security market and global reach, we fully expect this relationship to immediately impact our presence across the channel."

The Critical Watch solution is available to Westcon global distributors immediately.  For additional insight into the solution, please visit www.criticalwatch.com/ipso.   

About Westcon Group
Westcon Group, Inc. is a value added distributor of category-leading unified communications, network infrastructure, data center, and security solutions with a global network of specialty resellers. The company goes to market under the Comstor and Westcon brands. Westcon Group's teams are located in 60+ countries around the globe, create unique programs and provide exceptional support to accelerate the business of its global partners. Strong relationships at every level of the Westcon Group organization enable partners to receive support tailored to their needs. From global logistics and flexible customized financing solutions to pre-sales, technical and engineering assistance, the company works with partners to respond with agility and speed to changing market conditions so they can achieve the fastest time to revenue. Westcon Group's portfolio of market-leading vendors includes: Cisco, Avaya, Polycom, Check Point, F5, Palo Alto and Blue Coat, among others. For more information, please visit www.westcongroup.com, "Like" our Facebook page or track our LinkedIn page.

Media Contact: 
Craig Librett
Director of Public Relations
Westcon Group
+1 (914) 357-1747
[email protected] 

SOURCE Westcon Group