Security SaaS offering a first for Symantec

Small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the focus of Symantec's first software-as-a-service product, and resellers will be allowed to offer customized versions.

The antivirus giant launched the beta for Symantec Protection Network , describing it as a software-as-a-service platform that will provide security to smaller organizations that lack the budget for IT security specialists and defensive add-ons.

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"We're offering the little guy the level of protection that the bigger guys use," said Jeff Hausman, Symantec's senior director of product management. "As part of this, Symantec is offering to manage their IT infrastructure so they can focus on running their business. We can do your back-ups so you don't have to."

The first offering of the Symantec Protection Network is an online backup service Hausman said will enable cost-effective, reliable backup and restoration of business-critical data from the convenience of a Web browser. Symantec plans to take the service out of beta and make it widely available later this year.

By subscribing to Symantec Protection Network Online Backup Service, he said organizations "can significantly expand their disaster recovery capabilities and stay current with advancements in backup and recovery technology without the costly migration or upgrade processes required with traditional solutions."

An important piece of the Protection Network rollout is that Symantec's channel partners will be able to sell their own customized versions.

Hausman said, "We're committed to the channel. They can help us bring the Protection Network to the masses, and we help them by letting them customize it with some of their additional offerings."