Death of the Hardware Security Appliance
Widgets & RSS FeedsThe decline of the security hardware appliance is closely linked to the rising popularity of virtualization for business applications of all kinds. Virtualization, the technology that enables multiple heterogeneous operating systems to run simultaneously on the same physical piece of hardware, has been around for some time, but it is really only recently that it has come into its own developing from single server installations to fully global cloud-based infrastructures.
According to Gartner, Inc. just 16 percent of workloads were running in virtual machines by year-end 2009. Given the uncertain economic climate and cost-cutting mandates, it is not surprising that Gartner has forecast that this will rise to 50 percent by 2012. They also expect enterprises with 100-999 employees to have a higher penetration of virtual machines deployed than the Global 500.
The reason for this growth in the small- to mid-sized market is that for years the entry point has been simply too high for small enterprises. Only recently has increased competition by server vendors brought prices down to a level that enables smaller firms to embrace virtualization. Moreover, in the IT security market, mounting pressure to cut hardware ownership costs and the ready availability of a growing number of easy-to-use and affordable virtual security appliances have started to change buying habits dramatically.
Virtualization now opens the door to a radical overhaul of both people and processes and this appeals to many businesses as they look to make savings that will help them to survive the current market downturn. These savings come in the shape of both dramatically reduced management overheads and significantly lower capital expenditure. In the virtual world, servers can be provisioned and brought online in a matter of minutes - a task that takes several hours in the physical world. Problems, too, that would once have been tied to a specific physical server can be resolved much more speedily in a virtual environment.
A perfect example of this sea change can be seen in the security market. Not so very long ago the universal demand was for hardware security appliances. At SpamTitan we have seen the balance shift markedly in favour of virtual appliances. Customers that have already moved to a virtualized environment are looking to increase their return on this investment and integrate a virtual appliance rather than opt for a physical appliance. This dramatic customer shift away from physical appliances is down to the cost advantages and easy management of virtual appliances on the one hand and the comparative high cost and management overheads of physical appliances on the other.
This trend towards virtual appliances is a win-win for vendors and customers alike. For vendors, solution delivery and upgrade management is easier and less expensive, allowing savings to be passed to customers. For customers themselves, deploying and managing virtual appliances is simple and fast, and allows them greater economic and administrative flexibility from initial product testing through to purchase and future company growth.;
In summary, physical appliances were once fine for the critical security needs of businesses. Customers were prepared to live with the various issues such as appliance overload, upgrade expense and over reliance on vendors that came with them. But the server world is changing fast. Virtual appliances avoid all of these issues while offering the added benefits of fast testing, speedy deployment and minimal management overhead—as well as real scalability and mobility, thus future proofing the initial investment. Our customer activity points emphatically to a future dominated by virtualization and cloud computing. It is difficult to see where and how traditional physical security hardware solutions can survive in this environment.
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About Ronan Kavanagh—CEO SpamTitan Technologies
Currently Ronan Kavanagh is responsible for Global Sales and Marketing for the SpamTitan suite of products. Educated in NUI Galway, Ireland, he joined Copperfasten Technologies in June 2004. Prior to joining Copperfasten Ronan worked with Eurokom, an Internet Security Services provider, delivering a wide range of solutions to both Government and large blue chip companies in Ireland.
