Secure Computing announced it is working with VMware to provide customers with security gateway virtual appliances for organizations of all sizes. These security gateway appliances for VMware environments will provide customers with a way to implement and manage security for multiple virtual machines, or multiple applications within a virtual machine, through a single gateway. This enables customers to capitalize on the business benefits of VMware virtualization -- such as reduced capital and operating expenses, assured business continuity and a "greener" carbon footprint -- while ensuring security across the datacenter in ways not possible in a physical environment.

According to leading research firm Gartner's report "Virtualization Changes Virtually Everything" (by Philip Dawson and Thomas J. Bittman, March 28, 2008), "Virtualization is the highest-impact trend changing infrastructure and operations through 2012. It will change how you manage, how and what you buy, how you deploy, how you plan and how you charge."

Through its relationship with VMware, all of Secure Computing's security gateway appliances can be deployed as preconfigured virtual appliances onto new or existing hardware without the cost and space required of traditional security implementations. Customers can deploy different Secure Computing appliances, each on its own virtual machine, on a single server.

Customers can also reduce administrative overhead by using Secure Computing's central management system, Secure Firewall CommandCenter to manage a pool of virtual security appliances protecting one or multiple customer environments. For example, customers or managed service providers can deploy up to 32 separate firewalls, each running on its own virtual machine on a single server, and manage all of them from a single point. With any of the scenarios, customers benefit from the ease of preconfigured security without the cost and space required to manage multiple appliances.

"VMware virtualization is the ideal platform for partners like Secure Computing to develop an easy way for customers to deploy their business-critical security solutions," said Dan Chu, vice president of emerging products at VMware. "Combining Secure Computing's security gateway virtual appliances with VMware virtualization allows organizations to scale out their security architecture and gain additional datacenter resources without added complexity."

"This relationship with VMware enables Secure Computing to be at the forefront of helping our customers incorporate green information technology into their core security strategy," said Scott Montgomery, vice president of global technical strategy, Secure Computing. "These integrated VMware-virtualized applications offer substantial cost savings and simplify the implementation and overall management of security in our customers' virtual environments."