Whale needs to turn itself around - fast

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: TIM GREENE ON VPNS
06/14/05
Today's focus: Whale needs to turn itself around - fast

Dear security.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* What's up with Whale Communications?
* Links related to VPNs
* Featured reader resource
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THE HOMEOWNER'S GUIDE

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Today's focus: Whale needs to turn itself around - fast

By Tim Greene

SSL VPN vendor Whale Communications has a new CEO, Roger Pilc,
former COO at software vendor SMARTS, which was bought by EMC in
February.

It's a critical time for Whale to bring in someone with a solid,
even impressive business background. While the company has
ranked as high as No. 2 in sales among SSL vendors, it dropped
from No. 3 in 2003 to No. 4 in 2004, according to a recent
Synergy Research report
<http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/vpn/2005/0328vpn2.html>

Whale needs to stop this slide now. Already SSL VPN companies
are disappearing, either through acquisitions, mergers or
closing up shop. And the technology itself is starting to be
incorporated in other networking devices, which has the
potential to leave even quality competitors out in the cold.

It's not clear yet what Pilc will do, but he needs to do
something to turn things around. Not that the company is doing
badly. It has a number of customers among businesses you have
heard of including Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Hasbro, Krispy
Kreme and Leows.

Along with the new CEO, Whale has acquired another $6.5 million
in funding from reputable venture capital firms including
Goldman Sachs, Soros Fund and the BRM Group.

It should take that money and sink it into some high-profile
marketing so the name Whale pops to mind when IT directors think
of SSL VPNs. It should also continue its R&D to keep competitive
and possibly be ahead of other vendors in technology advances
that can set it apart.

And it should do all this quickly. Now is not the time to try to
build an SSL VPN company slowly because SSL companies are not so
slowly vanishing.
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Tim Greene

Tim Greene is a senior editor at Network World, covering virtual
private networking gear, remote access, core switching and local
phone companies. You can reach him at <mailto:tgreene@nww.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by F5 Networks
F5 Networks Clientless Secure SSL-VPN Remote Access
 
F5's FirePass delivers secure and reliable remote access to any
application from any Web-enabled device by any user-- while
eliminating the complexity, support burden, and user frustration
caused by IPSec VPN solutions. Get your free white paper to
deploying simple, secure remote access visit
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=106266
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Breaking VPN news from Network World, updated daily:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/firewalls.html

Archive of the VPN newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/vpn/index.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
VoIP SECURITY

For the latest in VoIP security, check out NW's Research Center
on this very topic. Here you will find a collection of the
latest news, reviews, product testing results and more all
related to keeping VoIP networks secure. Click here for more:
<http://www.networkworld.com/topics/voip-security.html>
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