Getting the balance right and extending security choices
The addition of the new 700 and 100W models extend the reach of the Zyxel USG FLEX series of unified security gateways, and give customers more choice and investment protection – for office-based and home-workers, as Thorsten Kurpjuhn, Market Development Manager Europe at Zyxel, explains
I consider myself fortunate to be working in digital security. Being involved in providing a technology that helps customers protect their systems and data and keep their businesses running from day to day, is something to be proud of. I know that everyone at Zyxel shares this view and works diligently and conscientiously to deliver the best protection possible to our customers.
The only thing that sometime bothers me is that, to some extent, we always seem to be talking about cybersecurity threats and the danger they pose. Of course, if we would not be doing our out duty if we did not, because these threats are all too real.
Opposing forces
I expect our customers might also sometimes think about these opposing forces, but from a slightly different perspective. On one hand, they want to make sure they have the level of protection that will keep their networks and information safe. On the other, they don’t want to over-complicate things or spend a disproportionate amount of time and budget on security. This will be particularly true for smaller businesses – especially after the disruption that’s been caused to many sectors over the last few months.
As ever, it’s a matter of getting the balance right and this is exactly what we plan to do with the new Zyxel USG FLEX series of unified security gateways. We have already announced several products in this new range of powerful yet affordable security appliances, and we have now added two more devices to the range, thus extending the appeal of USG FLEX to more organisations.
The new models are the USG FLEX 700 and the USG FLEX 100W. The former now becomes the top-end model in the range. It adds a lot more power for businesses that need to support up to 150 VPN connections and drive higher throughput. In particular, it will be useful for organisations that now have a lot of people working at home. At 54000Mbps, firewall throughput is also more than double that of the next model in the range, the USG FLEX 500.
Simple set-up
The USG FLEX 100W is exactly the same as the previously-announced USG FLEX 100 model but comes with added WiFi support. We have introduced this model to meet the needs of smaller businesses that want to simplify their office set-up. Combining WiFi in the security appliance means there is one less device to manage.
By extending the reach of the USG FLEX range, we are giving more small and medium-sized businesses the opportunity to put good protection at the gateway to their network. That’s good news for the many organisations that can benefit by using the USG FLEX devices and for Zyxel partners, who can now offer even more choice to their customers.
USG FLEX devices will also be a good investment for the future; in 2021, we will be adding support for Nebula for all these appliances, allowing customers to manage them locally or remotely, via the web. This will also be a great addition for MSP partners who will be able to want to offer USG FLEX devices as the a foundational part of a managed security service.
