InformationWeek

Existing products and new offerings will form the three legs of Symantec's Enterprise Security initiative: virus protection, content filtering, and intrusion detection. Its current programs--Norton AntiVirus, Mail-Gear eMail and I-Gear Internet content filtering and scanning software--enable enterprises to protect information and manage employee Internet usage.

Symantec will bolster its security line with a desktop firewall, due next month, and host and network based intrusion-detection products, due by the first quarter of next year.

A Symantec architecture called the Digital Immune System will help businesses merge these technologies to develop and control a comprehensive Internet security-management policy, says Elizabeth Magliana, VP of product management for Symantec's enterprise solution division.

The digital immune system will identify potential threats and deliver cures to the computer, or across the entire network, Magliana says.

Symantec's initiative may help it win more customers. Daniel Kesl, senior network architect for Denver gold producer Newmont Mining Corp., says he recently chose McAfee over Symantec because Symantec didn't have a firewall offering.

The idea of a networkwide digital immune system constantly checking for vulnerabilities and offering instant notification and fixes is interesting, Kesl says, but adds, "I'd like to see it proven. Many vendors offer magic bullets, but they often don't work as advertised in the real world."

Customers can sign on for the antivirus assessment, planning, implementation and monitoring services now, and will be able to access the content-filtering and intrusion-detection services by year's end.

Symantec plans to expand its staff of about a dozen service professionals to 50 by year's end. The company hasn't disclosed pricing for its new offerings.