Symantec Unveils Endpoint Protection Services

Symantec today announced managed endpoint protection services for round-the-clock monitoring and management of computers that use Symantec security products.

The new services are Symantec's first for remote desktop monitoring. While incident response isn't included, the services are intended to assure optimum deployment, performance, configuration and management of secure endpoints, says Grant Geyer, Symantec's vice president of managed services.

A software agent added to the customer's management console lets Symantec security personnel in data centers take on the task of helping customers with deploying and managing desktops.

"Everyone's trying to rationalize budgets, and some things are operational burdens," says Jon Oltsik, analyst at consultancy Enterprise Strategy Group, about Symantec's new set of services.

Symantec's aim is to be on the menu with an offering if companies start looking for managed endpoint services as part of their outsourcing quest, Oltsik says.

As part of the services, Symantec will include online storage of all incident reports and security alerts to help customers comply with regulations such as the Payment Card Industry guidelines, which require retention of information for a number of months, Geyer says. Pricing for the services starts at $2,500.