As part of the Complete Endpoint Protection launch, we also announced a customer auto migration making it even easier to offer your customers solutions that deliver optimum protection for today’s complex threats. Effective immediately, your McAfee Secure AntiVirus (SAV) and McAfee Active Virus Defense (AVD) customers will automatically be upgraded at no charge to the McAfee Endpoint Protection Suite (EPS).

What Does this Mean for our Partners?
• Your customers are now entitled to the additional products in the EPS suite. Grants will be updated to reflect EPS instead of SAV/AVD. Your customers can view their new entitlements by inputting their valid grant number into the McAfee Product Downloads web page. This is a great way to show added value to your customers.
• No new or existing quotes with SAV/AVD SKUs will be approved – McAfee Order Operations and distribution will need to either reject the quote or have it recalled and re-quoted using EPS SKUs. Partners should start quoting EPS SKUs today.
• If you have already received a McAfee approved quote for SAV or AVD, you can still process the PO. McAfee will update your customers’ entitlements on the back end. When the order is processed, you can let your customers know that they will be entitled to EPS.

With an integrated security management platform that is ahead of the competition, McAfee is poised to be the leader in Endpoint security. This auto migration to the new complete Protection Suites will make further upgrades most cost effective for our mutual customers.

There’s never been a better time to partner with McAfee.

Contact Partner Care for questions and support:
Americas: Reseller_Support@McAfee.com
EMEA: PartnerCareEMEA@McAfee.com
APAC: APACPartner_Support@McAfee.com

You’ve heard a lot from us leading up to this launch. If you’ve been following our Redefining Endpoint Security blog series, you learned how Real-Time for ePO, Deep Defender, Application Control, and Risk Advisor are key differentiators when it comes to products that deliver optimum protection against today’s more complex threats.

As we move out in front to lead in this new era, we wanted to hear from you. We asked several McAfee partners to talk about what the new endpoint suites mean for their business and here’s what they had to say:

Redefining Endpoint Security Together

Together, we’ve built a 60 million endpoint installed base that can be upgraded and that’s just the beginning. According to IDC, the enterprise endpoint market continues to experience healthy growth–from roughly $3.5 billion in 2012 to $4.8 billion in 2017.

Visit the Partner Portal Endpoint Suite resource page for the latest information including:

• Accelerated Deal Registration
• Partner and Distributor Demand Generation Kits
• Training presentations
• $2, $4 and $6 McAfee Rewards
• $100 “Bring McAfee to the Game” competitive displacement incentive

So who is going to lead in this new era? I humbly submit McAfee and here’s why:

1. We began our integrated security platform (SecurityConnected) journey 5 years ago and launched the initiative at FOCUS 2010, putting us years head of the competition in the race to integrate.
2. We are the only provider of chip to the cloud protection.
3. We continue to improve as a company to partner with, moving up 6 spots to #19 on CRN’s Best Companies to Partner with list, and we aren’t done yet.

What’s New in Endpoint Protection?

The new McAfee Complete Endpoint Protection Suites are the industry’s first endpoint suites to provide customers proactive, chip-to-cloud protection. The new suites provide this unique level of protection by being the only endpoint suites that include hardware-enhanced security, dynamic whitelisting, risk intelligence and real-time security management.

Leading up to this launch, our Redefining Endpoint Security blog series took a close look at our four key differentiators: Real-Time for ePO, Deep Defender, Application Control, and Risk Advisor and explained how these products deliver optimum protection against today’s more complex threats.

There are two new suites you can start selling today: McAfee Complete Endpoint Protection – Enterprise and McAfee Complete Endpoint Protection – Business. To get started watch our new Endpoint Suites channels launch webcast.

In addition to the new Endpoint Suites, we are also extending our comprehensive security protection to mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, etc…) with the integration of EMM (Enterprise Mobile Management) into ePO. Mobile security is a massive market opportunity and a top CIO concern, according to The 2012 Gartner CIO Agenda Survey. Allowing you to help customers protect their data on employee-owned devices through a single console is a huge competitive advantage and is included in the new Comprehensive Endpoint Suites.

For McAfee Partners: Helping You Differentiate, Grow and Prosper

With these new endpoint suites we are accelerating mutual profitability by helping you differentiate, grow and prosper.

• Differentiate: with chip to the cloud protection and real-time security management
• Grow: together we built a 60 million endpoint installed base that can be upgraded and according to IDC, the enterprise endpoint market continues to experience healthy growth–from roughly $3.5 billion in 2012 to $4.8 billion in 2017.
• Prosper: visit the Partner Portal Endpoint Suite resource page, your one-stop location for all the latest information and links including: Accelerated Deal Registration; $2, $4 and $6 McAfee Rewards; the “Bring McAfee to the Game” competitive displacement incentive; the partner demand generation kit; as well as double continuing education credits.

There has never been a better time to be a McAfee channel partner.

Together we can!

Application Control is actually a powerful security solution with a centrally managed list of applications that it allows onto the network. In this fourth blog in our series on Redefining Endpoint Security, we look at Application Control and how it works to keep desktops, servers, or even point-of-service devices safe from malware and scripts.

To learn more about how McAfee is redefining endpoint security, take a look at the past blog posts in the series covering RealTime for ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO), Deep Defender, and Risk Advisor. And stay tuned for some big news coming next week.

Not Just Security, Layers of Defense

Application Control takes inventory of every program in the organization and breaks them down into good, bad, and unclassified after correlating it with McAfee’s Global Threat Intelligence (GTI), which is a large database of known good and bad applications and processes. Those without a bad or good reputation are classified as outlier applications and are put on the gray list so they can be investigated further.

Thanks to the Application Inventory feature, all binaries across the enterprise are displayed by vendor and application in an easy-to-understand hierarchical format. It’s easy to search for insights to find out which applications were added and when, uncertified binaries, files with unknown reputations, or even systems that are running outdated versions of Adobe Reader.

With a complete inventory of all applications, libraries, drivers, and scripts, and when a program was run, the system can check that against the whitelist and then either permit (or deny) the action or program based on whether it’s in the allowed list.

And, what about when a new unknown binary tries to run? Application Control blocks it and all unknown dangerous applications. Luckily, the list to enter the network grows as trusted sources grow and that means whitelists get updated, too, and will grow dynamically. Even if you’re in between patch cycles.

Using this technique, networks are safe no matter what applications try to get in.

The second layer of network defense is memory. And though vulnerabilities will exist, once a program is whitelisted programs it’s exploit-proof. Even programs like Adobe Reader or Internet Explorer can be used safely. The best part…Application Control is completely signature-less.

What This Means for Partners

For partners, whitelisting is the most effective way to prevent customers’ networks from zero day attacks. Meaning customers can identify (whitelist) only approved executables, rather than the hugely time-consuming task of constantly reviewing/managing all executables and manually blacklisting suspicious or malicious files as would need to happen with a host IPS.

Whether running on a server, corporate desktops or a variety of fixed-function devices like ATMs, kiosks, and POS devices, McAfee Application Control provides superior security coverage on day zero (or any day).

Throughout history, guard dogs, canons, moats, and drawbridges have kept intruders out of homes and businesses.

These preventative measures merely block off entrances, offer little, if anything, in the way of proactively preventing threats, and don’t let you make adjustments on the fly.

Today’s businesses face a similar predicament. Maybe there aren’t any moats or guard dogs, but when customers purchase and deploy point security products, it’s difficult for them to know whether they’re completely overdoing it or completely under protected and vulnerable to attack.

In this third part of our blog series Redefining Endpoint Security, we take a look at Risk Advisor. (Be sure to read our two previous posts on Deep Defender and ePolicy Orchestrator, too, if you haven’t.)

Risk Plus Visibility

No one wants to think about security after the fact. By then it’s too late.

Risk Advisor plugs right into McAfee’s ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) and correlates threats, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures so customers have the information needed to pinpoint assets that are at risk and require immediate action. That means IT departments have control of the tools they need to act immediately, rather than having to guess and hope.

This also means eliminating “patch panic” so customers don’t need to worry about every individual patch. Instead, they can focus on critical risks and better understand which regulations are impacted by a specific threat, and what corrective actions are required to ensure compliance.

With a consolidated viewer, Risk Advisor makes it easy to see detailed information about a specific threat, with a complete description and overview, analysis, remediation, and recommended actions.

Minimizing Risk, Maximizing ROI

Common questions you may hear your customers ask likely include:

• Where am I at risk?
• How am I at risk?
• What is the ROI for deployed security products?
• What about patches?

With Risk Advisor, you can help your customers better answer those questions and rest assured their infrastructure is more secure. No moats or guard dogs required.

Watch this video for more details and information around Risk Advisor’s features and capabilities. http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/demos/risk-advisor-demo.html

Learn more about McAfee Risk Advisor.

In part two of a new five-part blog series on Redefining Endpoint Security,  we explore some of the new security threats facing customers, but most importantly, we feature the products that can help you differentiate, grow, and prosper as a McAfee partner.

Last week, we covered Real Time for ePO with its amazing technology inside that helps collect McAfee endpoint security product status instantly.

This week, we’ll take a closer look at Deep Defender, the first McAfee product built on DeepSAFE technology co-developed with Intel.

Many companies understand how network security works and run operating-system level security (and may think they’re protected), but cyber criminals’ malware can circumvent traditional network security solutions that work within the operating system.

Deep Defender is a proactive solution that works on kernel-level threats and beyond the OS to help keep networks safe. Think of it as a super hero hiding in your customers’ infrastructure to stop threats.

Deep Defender is deployed using the ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) management console and supports Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors.

Advantage for McAfee Partners: Protecting Your Customers from the Start

For McAfee partners, this means you can recommend a solution that protects your customer from the start. Deep Defender automatically removes rootkits once deployed.

With a security solution that works beyond the operating system, there’s a new vantage point for security.

Learn more about McAfee Deep Defender and stay tuned for part three of our Redefining Endpoint Security series next week.

Competition helps inspire two teams to push further and the fans to cheer harder.

In business, as in the case of McAfee and Symantec, our rivalry means we create better products, push to stay on top, and help our partners do the same.

Head-to-Head in CRN

As you may have seen, CRN’s Head-to-Head slideshow featured McAfee and Symantec competing in the security arena around spyware protection, intrusion prevention, and overall channel profitability.

As with any good rivalry, the game is always exciting. While CRN’s consensus is that Symantec does have a strong portfolio, McAfee came out on top for Security Management Console (ePolicy Orchestrator), cutting-edge hardware-based security, and overall partner profitability.

“Show me the money” –  Keeping Partners Profitable

While industry accolades validate the work we do at McAfee–and we’re always flattered to receive them—one of the biggest success metrics for me is to see partners’ profitability increase. So we were especially thrilled to hear that partners told CRN that our channel program is more profitable and that our efforts to increase support for your businesses haven’t gone unnoticed.

And customers appreciate the results, too. For customers, we’re setting a new industry standard for time to respond. We know it can be difficult to share intelligence across different solutions and that’s an issue for customers who are dealing with threats and want to respond quickly.

Transforming Security, Together

As I wrote back in February in my post Transforming the Security Industry…Together, you can’t adequately protect customers from the volume and sophistication of today’s cyber attacks without an integrated security platform that proactively and intelligently protects. That’s why using an end-to-end McAfee solution is so key to network security for customers.

We’ve got the tools to respond to threats in real time with Real Time ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) that queries information from all of your customer’s endpoints in seconds, leading to more intelligent analysis and quick decision making on the part of IT.

With new devices and new threats hitting networks every day, it’s our goal to work together to ensure customers’ networks stay secure through innovative products and help you stay profitable through innovative channel programs.

By 2016, 38% of companies will stop providing devices to their workers, says Info Security magazine. Allowing employees to bring their own device means less control of what devices end up on the network. The more “rogue” devices, the more endpoints, the more risk.

Of course, as a McAfee partner you’re well aware of the security risks involved with not having a bulletproof endpoint security solution in place.

Threats that weren’t even a blip on IT’s radar a few years ago–rootkit/beneath-the-OS threats, digitally-signed malware and advanced persistent threats (ATP)–are just some of the new tactics being employed by today’s cybercriminals. (Checkout McAfee Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2012 for more details on today’s security threat landscape.)

In this new five-part blog series on Redefining Endpoint Security, we’ll explore some of the new security threats facing customers’ networks, but most importantly we’ll feature the products that can help you differentiate, grow and prosper with McAfee.

First up, Real Time for ePO™ with an amazing bit of technology inside that helps collect McAfee endpoint security product status instantly. No waiting.

Using a scalable peer-to peer methodology for querying information from all of your customer’s endpoints in seconds, Real Time for McAfee ePO expedites feedback. This means more precise and current information and that leads to more intelligent analysis and quick decision making on the part of IT.

Compare RealTime for ePO to every other type of reporting. The others all provide a picture of the past that could be hours or even days old, depending on an endpoint’s last check-in time to a network. Ask your customers what it would mean to them, to have real time intelligence.

With real-time visibility, your customers can proactively take action on the most recent intelligence. Being able to recognize and correct any under-protected and non-compliant endpoints means that even the intern’s spyware-riddled tablet can’t touch the network.

A Big Deal for Partners, Too

The endpoint market is projected to grow from $3.8B in 2012 to $4.88B in 2017, according to IDC. Together with you, we’ve built a more than 60 million endpoint install base. Customers who own the Endpoint Protection Suite (EPS), Endpoint Protection Advanced (EPA) or Total Protection for Enterprise (TPE) are entitled to Real Time for ePO today. Make sure your customers enable the Real-Time for ePO feature so they can experience the benefits and lock them in for their next endpoint renewal.

As for your Greenfield or competitive displacement endpoint security opportunities, make sure to show your customer how quickly and easily they can access crucial security status data and refine defenses to stop endpoint risks and compliance concerns. Real Time for ePO and real time intelligence is something no other security vendor can provide.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is reshaping today’s workplace and is changing the way IT purchases, manages and secures. Combine that with the new tactics and technologies being used to evade today’s standard security measures and the big question becomes, are your customers ready for these security challenges?

Learn more about ePO and stay tuned for part two of our Redefining Endpoint Security series next week.

• Real Time for McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator Data Sheet
•  McAfee Delivers Unified Rapid-Response Security Management
• Reserve your spot at our upcoming webinar with a live demo of Real Time for McAfee ePO on May 15, 2013.
• Product Guide: Real Time for ePolicy Orchestrator 1.0.0
• Real Time Special Edition User Guide 1.0

We are very excited, as evident by Pat Calhoun’s latest blog, about what this potentially means to our network security offering, business and partners. With our industry-leading IPS, this next-generation firewall technology will allow us to address an entirely new and larger enterprise segment.

Unlike many of our competitors, firewall is not a new market for McAfee. The next-generation firewall market has massive upside. We believe this market will be led by companies that can deliver an integrated solution. Stonesoft can help strengthen our integrated offering.

We anticipate completing the acquisition in Q3 2013 (July-Sept). However, until the close, we will continue to operate as separate companies, which means we are focused on working with you to close network security deals based on existing McAfee technology. Currently we offer you the ability to sell the most complete network security portfolio in the industry, which includes, industry leading IPS, high assurance proxy-based firewall, advanced threat intelligence as well as web and email protection.

If you couldn’t attend, please be sure to view the replay and understand our strategy plus the tools and resources available to you to drive mutual profitability.

In our first quarter, McAfee saw solid new business growth and very strong growth in our Web Gateway and SIEM technologies. Deal registration was also up nearly 40% y/y.

Our numbers demonstrate our success together. However, we need to continue to disrupt and create new avenues for growth and profitability. Lisa Matherly, Vice President, WW Partner Programs and Marketing, provided a recap of how we can do it:

• Invest – Take advantage of the Stack Challenge, McAfee Rewards, and ACE Incentive.
• Grow – Use our new Data Center & SMB channel kits & Rebates Program.
• Optimize – Read the Channel Spotlight Playbook (available May 22), download the new iPad app on (available May 29), and take the Fast Start SMB Training.

Michael Fey, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, rounded out the call with an informative and insightful discussion around Big Security Data and how McAfee is simplifying the move from security intelligence to action, creating not only operational efficiencies for our customers, but also an industry-leading security posture that only McAfee and our partners can deliver.  Our Big Security Data channel kit went live today.

Again, I encourage you to watch the event replay and understand how our Big Security Data solution enables our customers to move fast, learn quickly, and act decisively.

We can do more together. Be sure to follow us closely @McAfeeChannelChief in the weeks ahead, don’t leave money on the table by taking advantage of the McAfee Stack, and save the date for the Partner Summit at FOCUS 13, Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Together we can!