The Latest WatchGuard News
Product and Solution Information, Press Releases, Announcements

– September 8, 2010. WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader of business security solutions, is pleased to announce that the North Central Educational Service District (NCESD) has gone "Red Instead;" switching to WatchGuard for their security needs. With 17 networks and nearly 5,000 users, NCESD's network is substantial. Scott James, Network Services Engineer for NCESD, manages 21 firewalls, 4 IP phone systems and multiple wireless networks, as well as provides second level support.

"With WatchGuard I have better management of the network. The WSM (WatchGuard System Manager) makes WatchGuard much easier to use than their competitor's products. Being able to schedule a time to back up and upgrade the appliance is really nice," said James. "With the competition you could get reporting at an additional cost, but it wasn't as in-depth, much harder to configure and the reports just didn't have the granularity that you get with WatchGuard appliances."

WatchGuard's "Red Instead," a first of its kind program, offers free WatchGuard XTM multifunction firewalls and WatchGuard XCS messaging security and data loss prevention (DLP) appliances to businesses that trade in competitive multifunction firewalls or spam/web content security appliances. NCESD took advantage of this program to upgrade their network security to ensure that students are protected from harmful content, educators have access to the tools they need, and that the network runs as efficiently as possible.

"The WatchGuard feature set, pricing and trade-in programs are clearly in line with what businesses need today," said Mark Romano, Director of Field Marketing at WatchGuard Technologies. "We are delighted that the "Red Instead" program has been so well received. This program gives our channel partners and customers a win-win balance of reducing costs while increasing network security efficacy."