Little-known Nemx Software Corp., an Ottawa-based security software vendor has updated PowerTools for Exchange.
Version 5 is designed as a multi-tier attack system on spam, according to company president John Young.
Spammers have become so sophisticated that no single tactic is enough of
a prevention, he added.
“”Nemx PowerTools 5.0 focuses on providing an arsenal toolkit for spam and anti-virus. I am a believer that one tool by itself will not do the job.
So we have provided seven tools for multi-protection.””
Young admitted his company needs a boost from resellers to bring PowerTools to market in a big way.
“”Customers rely on resellers to be the spokesman for opportunities in SMB,”” Young said.
“”These resellers install IMF (intelligent messaging filters) extensions as an option, but these installations demand a different types filters,”” he added.
This is why Nemx is making PowerTools flexible for small- to medium -sized businesses. Companies can choose any components they need. Pricing is US$495 per component to start.
Currently only 25 per cent of Nemx business goes through the channel, and Young realizes this needs to increase dramatically.
Unacceptable
“”It is unacceptable,”” Young said of his company’s efforts to recruit resellers. He said most of VARs who have partnered with the firm found it from Web searches and online chat forums.
He intends to leverage Microsoft Canada and its large base of solution providers.
Young made a strategic bet on Exchange Mail System and dropped Lotus Notes and Domino. “”We found this strategy worked well in developing product. To put a feature in across all platforms was hard to support and we could not add the type of value we have,”” he said.
Nemx figures that 50 per cent or more installs in Canada are Exchange.
Young wants to double Nemx indirect business by next year. The company is currently working on a universal partner program and searching for some distribution help. The company does not have a distributor signed yet.
Nemx resellers today enjoy healthy margins, Young said.
“”IMF, for the most part is a no brainer. If they have run Exchange 2003 they run MS IMF filter and we can control it better. There are margins there, but they can quadruple to 75 per cent of the base margin of 25 per cent depending on the their virus detection,”” Young said.
The market for Nemx’s solution is there, Young said.
From internal research, Young said the market for e-mail/Web content scanning has a 39 per cent annual growth rate and will be valued at $605 million by 2006.
Meanwhile, the anti-virus market has 15 per cent growth rate and the market is forecasted to be worth $2.9 billion in 2006. Lastly, mobile malicious code has a 40 per cent growth rate annually and is currently a $79 million market.