WatchGuard Redefines Price/Performance in Internet Security Appliance Market
Firebox III Family Delivers Superior Performance, Value and Ease of Deployment for Internet Data Centers and Medium to Large Enterprises
LAS VEGAS–May 8, 2001–WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:WGRD), a leader in Internet security solutions, today introduced its next generation of award-winning Firebox Internet security appliances at the NetWorld + Interop Conference in Las Vegas. The Firebox III family, consisting of the Firebox 2500 and Firebox 4500, redefine price/performance by delivering industry-leading performance at prices that are affordable for larger distributed organizations and Internet data centers with the need to secure a large number of VPN connections.
Priced at $7,490 and $9,990 respectively, the Firebox 2500 is an enterprise-class firewall capable of supporting up to 5,000 authenticated users and the Firebox 4500 provides firewall services at wire speed (100 megabits per second).
“The Firebox III family builds on WatchGuard’s leadership position in security appliances for the small- and medium-sized enterprise by offering higher performance, integrated management services, and new software for managing larger VPN deployments,” said Chris Christiansen, Vice President of Internet Infrastructure and Security Software at IDC (Framingham, MA). “WatchGuard is clearly targeting the service provider market and large geographically dispersed enterprises that rely on the Internet to enable communications among many remote sites. When you add higher performance to their traditional strengths in security management, this presents a compelling solution for larger-sized companies that WatchGuard hasn’t traditionally targeted.”
Recently ranked the revenue market share leader in mid-range VPN hardware, the comprehensive Firebox System includes the Firebox appliance, firewall and virtual private networking (VPN) protection, management software and the LiveSecurity Service. Coupled with WatchGuard’s VPN Manager software, the new Firebox III family of appliances appeal to organizations with the most complex VPN requirements by delivering high-performance and a quick, easy way to manage VPN connections between hundreds of sites.
WatchGuard VPN Manager adds unprecedented simplicity by providing an intuitive, drag and drop configuration tool for rapid configuration and deployment of the VPN connections from a central location. And, for customers with critical VPN deployments, WatchGuard has expanded its customer service solutions to include its LiveSecurity Gold Service offering 24×7 technical support and one-hour response times. Combining the Firebox III family with WatchGuard’s core strength in security management provides a powerful, easy to deploy solution that allows organizations to leverage and extend limited IT resources. The Firebox III introduces new features that maximize performance, such as route-through VPN. This VPN technology enables organizations to pass traffic through existing VPN tunnels to create additional VPN connections with other Fireboxes on the network, rather than build distinct VPN tunnels for every pair of Fireboxes.
“As distributed enterprises move communications to the Internet, there is a need for more powerful firewall and VPN capabilities,” said Christopher G. Slatt, CEO of WatchGuard. “With the Firebox III family, we are delivering the best price/performance in the industry. Combining high performance with our easy to use configuration and management tools creates a firewall and VPN solution that meets the demands of a broad range of customers.”
Firebox(TM) 4500 — Power and Performance for the Internet Data Center
— 500mhz processor
— 256 MB RAM
— 64-bit bus architecture
— 197 Mbps firewall throughput (packet filter mode)
— 100 Mbps VPN/3DES throughput
Firebox(TM) 2500 — Enterprise-class Firewall and Secure VPN
— 500mhz processor
— 128 MB RAM
— 64-bit bus architecture
— 197 Mbps firewall throughput (packet filter mode)
— 45 Mbps VPN/3DES throughput
— supports up to 5,000 authenticated users
Pricing, Availability and Support
All Firebox III products include WatchGuard Control Center, the WatchGuard Security Suite, and a one-year subscription to the LiveSecurity(TM) Service. Suggested list price in the U.S. is $7,490 for the Firebox 2500 and $9,990 for the Firebox 4500. Both products will be available in late-May, 2001. For customers with critical VPN deployments, WatchGuard is offering premium service with its new LiveSecurity Gold Service that guarantees 24×7 technical support and 1-hour response times. For more information, please contact a reseller through WatchGuard’s web site at
http://www.watchguard.com/sales/locate.asp.
WatchGuard protects customers in over 100 countries by delivering its Firebox System through a worldwide network of resellers and service providers. Additionally, organizations around the world can outsource the management of a WatchGuard Firebox by subscribing to a managed firewall and VPN service, available through over 70 service providers worldwide including Deutsche Telekom, Genuity (formerly, GTE Internetworking), Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), RipTech and UUNet. The Firebox System is a scalable firewall and VPN solution for small, mid-sized and large distributed enterprises and data centers. The comprehensive hardware and software solution delivers four key benefits: centralized management, comprehensive security protection (including firewall and Virtual Private Network), the LiveSecurity Service and a choice of plug-and-play Firebox security appliances. For additional protection, WatchGuard ServerLock software provides server content and application security to protect critical data and services against unauthorized or unintentional access or manipulation.
About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
WatchGuard (Nasdaq:WGRD) is a leading provider of dynamic, comprehensive Internet security solutions designed to protect enterprises that use the Internet for e-business and secure communications. The Company is a pioneer in the creation of the plug-and-play Internet security appliance and server security software. The Company’s innovative LiveSecurity Service enables organizations and users to keep their security systems up-to-date, and its ServerLock software provides server content and application security to protect critical data and services against unauthorized or unintentional access or manipulation. For more information, please call 206/521-8340 or visit www.watchguard.com.
Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made and are subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risks described under the “Factors Affecting Our Operating Results, Our Business, and Our Stock Price” described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, and in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements that speak only as to the date of this release.
WatchGuard(R) and LiveSecurity(TM) are either a trademark or registered trademark of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Firebox and ServerLock are trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.