Panda Launches New Service to Remove Complex Security Burden for SMBs

Utilizing Security as a Service, Panda Managed Office Protection reduces risk and costs associated with Small and Medium Size Businesses (SMBs) malware management. Madrid, May 19, 2008. Panda Security, one of the world’s leading IT security providers today announced the worldwide launch of Panda Managed Office Protection, a web-based subscription service that removes the cost and management overheads of hardware, personnel and software resources dedicated to anti-malware for small and medium-sized businesses and remote offices.

Research from Panda “Infected or Not” initiative (http://www.infectedornot.com) shows that 72% of organizations with traditional security solutions in place are unaware of the risks that they are running with hidden malware on their systems. In addition to this SMBs are suffering from the cost management overhead of trying to stay protected against the latest threats.

With Panda Managed Office Protection, SMBs will be able to focus on their core business. Its simple web based administrator console allows IT protection to be securely managed and installed from any computer with Internet access enabling security management to be completely externalized. Subscription to an outsourced security service helps further reduce software costs.

According to Vic Wheatman, managing vice president for industry analysts Gartner, “Most enterprises will not have the resources to do an effective job at keeping the bad guys out and letting the good guys in. Outsourcing keeping-the-bad-guys-out effort is a driver for the managed-security market”.

As one of the first movers in the growing outsourced security services market and with over seven years expertise in hosted security solutions, Panda’s new Managed Office Protection ensures business continuity and offers higher availability with 24x7 support, providing the latest available product versions as well as signature file updates. It also protects laptop computers and remote connections through the installation of an ultra-light agent. Through it, users will be able to access all product upgrades and updates across the Internet. Its detection capacity benefits from Collective Intelligence developed by Panda Security which leverages collective knowledge in order to offer the latest malware signatures in real time.

“We needed a product like Panda Managed Office Protection; this tool will help us reduce travel expenses, which is very important for us as we move across the entire country. The centralized administration console allows us to monitor the status of all installed licenses, see warnings, customize installation, etc.” explains Gabriel Garrido from Informatica Notarial.

“Installing and maintaining security software requires a lot of time and effort from small-and-mid-sized businesses. Companies need to invest in servers, licenses and security specialists, which translates into significant costs” says Jorge Dinares, CEO Panda Security. “Panda Managed Office Protection is specially designed to protect organizations that don’t want to waste time and resources on these tasks”.