Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus solutions, and
Zack Systems, a pioneer in developing edge application servers,
today announced a partnership to deliver Sophos Anti-Virus to
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on one platform. Sophos's virus
scanning engine will be seamlessly integrated into Zack's edge
application server for use by ISPs to enhance their service
offerings to subscribers.
Zack's position at the edge of the network - the point in the
Internet closest to end users - gives Zack and its application
partners, such as Sophos, the ability to deploy services for
customers on top of existing Web traffic without client-side
software downloads. The Zack edge application server resides as a
proxy platform between users and the Web, enabling Zack to deliver
a variety of applications, including watermark branding, content
compression, content filtering and now virus scanning, all on one
platform.
"By integrating Sophos Anti-Virus into the Zack edge application
server, we are extending the reach of our virus scanning services
in the ISP market," said David Hughes, president of U.S. operations
for Sophos. "Together, we give ISPs a platform for offering
reliable virus protection to their subscribers without client-side
downloads."
Sophos has been at the forefront of anti-virus research for more
than a decade and is focused exclusively on developing corporate
anti-virus solutions. Recognizing the broad need for dependable
virus protection, Sophos developed an open application-programming
interface, to help third-party developers integrate their services
and applications with Sophos's powerful virus detection technology.
Sophos's application-programming interface is supported on Windows
NT and Unix platforms.
"ISP subscribers are constantly at risk from computer viruses,"
said Dave Weinstein, Zack's president and CEO. "Our partnership
with Sophos provides a compelling application to add to our growing
offering for ISPs. The Sophos Anti-Virus product gives subscribers
the protection they need and want, while providing ISPs with an
additional opportunity to upsell services and generate additional
revenue."
The Zack edge application server operates in conjunction with
existing network architectures and does not interfere with existing
caching systems or other server networks. It is currently available
as a stand-alone appliance as well as a software solution.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.