Internet and business data provider WorldCom Inc. (www.wcom.com) and threat protection solutions provider Internet Security Systems Inc. (www.iss.net) today announced an agreement through which WorldCom will “significantly expand” its portfolio of managed security services.
WorldCom effectively becomes a reseller of ISS’s services, which specializes in vulnerability assessment, intrusion detection and managed services associated with those disciplines. The companies will pitch their combined, outsourced data networking and security solutions as a reliable alternative to expending time and capital in self-managing critical, highly specialized functions.
According to Bob Blakely, senior manager of security service for WorldCom, customer demand led to the partnership. “Until now, WorldCom has focused on security as an extension of our virtual private network, managed firewall, authentication and other managed network services, but we’ve seen customer requirements expand to areas beyond that,” he said. “So this made for an ideal opportunity to partner with ISS.”
Both companies emphasized that the agreement will afford customers two key benefits: global reach and one-stop shopping for managed networking and security services.
“There are a lot of customers looking for a single source,” said Mark Wood, ISS’s director of offer management services and intellectual capital. “We already have six operations centers on four continents, so we can deliver services to customers wherever they are.”
The package of services includes managed network protection, intrusion event monitoring, remote scanning and anti-virus services from Internet Security Systems. WorldCom also will offer ISS emergency response services, in which ISS personnel will “almost parachute in” to troubled customer sites, Wood said.
Under WorldCom’s banner, the companies will deliver “comprehensive” security solutions with consulting and design, configuration and installation, maintenance, software upgrades, 24-by-7 management and monitoring, backup and restoration services provided by Internet Security Systems. “We will pull ISS into our solution development teams,” Blakely said, adding that “the services will be accessible via “a single source and single point of contact, which will be evident from the proposal state through delivery and support,” monitored and maintained through WorldCom’s Security Operations Center and security services organization.
While multi-national companies will constitute a sweet spot for such services, small and medium businesses, though more cost-conscious, face all the same security concerns, Blakely said. “It’s all about making it all seamless to the customer, rather than presenting him with piece parts he needs to put together.”
