Astaro lowers unified threat management entry costs

Astaro is offering a low-cost route to unified threat management

Unified threat management firm Astaro has changed the way it licenses and sells its security tools to tap a growing desire for greater flexibility, lower cost and lower risk investments in the space.

Astaro chief executive Jan Hichert explained that the changes have been made to accommodate corporate customers that favour an "all-in-one" approach to appliance-based security which does not involve large upfront capital expenditure.

The company is offering its base software and virtual appliances free of charge, while the cost of the hardware appliance has been reduced by over 50 per cent. Additional security applications for the web, network and email can be bought on a subscription basis.

"Customers can now come to us for very little or no cost and start protecting their network with the same functionality of a SonicWall on steroids," said Hichert. "Licensing the applications on a subscription basis significantly reduces the cost of unified threat management."

Hichert explained that Astaro will add more application modules to the platform in the coming months, specifically mail archiving and Wi-Fi security capabilities.