Networking

Dell Security IAM Gives SonicWall Partners A Boost

Patrick Sweeney
Patrick Sweeney

Dell Security has launched an identity and access management (IAM) solution  -- and it could be a natural fit for SonicWall partners. It's called Dell One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Passwords.

Dell Security claims the IAM offering offers four benefits to partners and customers. Specifically, it:

  • Automates and secures the process of granting administrators the credentials necessary to perform their duties.
  • Offers secure access to specific, approved credentials from almost any device, anywhere.
  • Leverages a single, modular architecture -- setting the stage for an MSP-type offering, ChannelE2E believes.
  • Includes numerous self-protection features at the hardware, system software, and application software layers that lock down access to the solution, making it resistant to attacks while simplifying installation and ongoing management, Dell asserts.

Dell Shows SonicWall Partners Some Love

Dell One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Passwords arrives at a key time for Dell and its partners. In recent weeks, some pundits speculated that Dell would try to sell off its SonicWall business ahead of the pending EMC buyout, which is expected to be completed between May and October 2016.

However, Dell has taken numerous steps to show its continued investment in the security business as well as SonicWall. For instance, Dell hired former FireEye Channel Chief Steve Pataky as its new VP of worldwide security sales. And now, the IAM solution provides upsell and cross sell opportunities for SonicWall partners.

Still, Dell Security is quick to say the One Identity solution is designed to protect access to all sorts of network firewalls and applications -- including enterprise-class applications from Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and others. Dell Security VP Patrick Sweeney says the solution also fits the SMB channel -- where many IAM offerings are typically too expensive or too complex for customers to consume.

Internal Threat Mitigation

Jackson Shaw

Moreover, the IAM solution helps to protect businesses from an often overlooked security threat -- company insiders and IT administrators. "Many companies are trying to figure out how to vault their systems, and keep administrators from knowing passwords for high-value systems," says Jackson Shaw, senior director of product management at Dell Software. The IAM solution addresses that need, he adds.

So what's next? Dell's IAM ambitions extend far beyond on-premises hardware and applications. The company is preparing enhancements that will allow the solution to protect SaaS applications as well.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.