F-Secure ties up with VSNL for security solutions

CHENNAI: Finland based internet security company F-Secure has tied up with Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) to offer security solutions for the small and medium enterprises segment. The two companies will jointly offer managed security services including antivirus, firewall and spam filtering solutions, a senior of-ficial said.

Mr Jari Heinonen, Director, F-Secure APAC & Oceania Region told reporters in Chennai on Wednesday that VSNL would inititally target its own SME customers, even though it was technically possible to offer the services to oth-ers as well. "But right now, if a customer wants to subscribe to this service, he has to be a VSNL customer," he said.

Mr Heinonen said the company had a similar tie-up with Reliance Infocomm. "With Reliance we target consumers. With VSNL, it's SMEs," he said. He said the demand for such products is increasing from Indian SMEs, defined by F-Secure as those organisations with 10-50 installations. (In Europe, SME segment includes companies with up to 250 installations.)

VSNL Vice President (content & applications) Mukul Sood said in a press statement that the tie-up meant world class products and Indian prices for its growing business users. F-Secure declined to comment on prices or terms of revenue sharing.

Providing security solutions as a service through internet service providers is a key focus area of F-Secure, the company said. It has 36% share of the Euro-pean broadband ISP market and a 25% share of the European and North American markets combined. In these markets, it offers this service through ISPs such as France Telecom, TeliaSonera, PCCW and Charter Communica-tions.