This PC security company, which sells through channels, is adding more ISPs to the vendor list.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [September 29, 2006]

Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Security Coverage was founded in October, 2001, and unveiled its SecureIT service in January, 2004. The company describes itself in its latest press release as a provider of "fully automated computer security services for home and small businesses."

Robert O'Dell, CEO and president of Security Coverage, says that the company realized that the security problems faced by home users were much the same as those faced by telecommuters. The company focused on this issue, he says. "How can we take the corporate infrastructure and extend it out to the home PC? How can we alleviate the end user's responsibility for security updates, etc., so we don't need action on their part?"

He says his service is similar to that offered by Zero Knowledge Systems (see For Those Scared of Offering Security) who, he says, no longer compete in the same market.

The product
The company provides a software download that manages anti-malware updates as well as Microsoft patches. Security Coverage also has a strategic partnership with Symantec. The company implements Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition in a manner that allows the ISP to deliver corporate security to home desktops.

The company also partners with Burbank, Calif.-based Diskeeper Corporation (formerly Executive Software) to inspect and fix PC hard drives.

Asked about privacy issues, O'Dell says there's no problem. "All updates are done with privacy in mind. We ensure that nothing confidential leaves the machine, and that the user has control of how we access it. It's done with a pull mechanism from the PC. There's no connection from us to a user's PC without their direct permission."

At installation, O'Dell explains, the software asks the user whether they want a remote install or manual install. If the user chooses manual install and later asks for help, they have a code they can use to give the Security Coverage tech the necessary permission to log on to the user's machine and clean things up.

Asked about remote backup services, O'Dell says the company is launching the service in early 2007.

The support and the marketing
O'Dell says that customer support is a very important piece of SecureIT. "Support is a core component of our product," he says. "We felt strongly that we neede to maintain control of support, so we staffed our own call center with employees here in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We support end customers, and we support service providers."

In addition, Security Coverage communicates with customers through its software. O'Dell lists 5 areas which many ISPs, he says, don't have. "There's how you manage technology to remove the burden from the end user, how you report to the end user, how you deliver technology in a way that reinforces your messages and strengths, and customer support."

• When the customer signs up for the service, they receive an e-mail with a license key and download link, and a note that "reinforces the message of why this is a good thing to do."
  
  
• 48 hours after installation, the customer receives a report showing what the service did for them: the number of patches, number of blocked popups, blocked spyware, blocked anti-virus. In addition, the Diskeeper software provides data about remaining hard drive space and any hard drive errors. All e-mails are own-branded.
  
  
• Each month, the customer receives a statistical summary of what the software has done for them this month.

O'Dell says ISPs need to show their customers what the software's doing for them, and without his company's solution, many choose not to. "Services run behind the scenes. Many companies have been out there with a retail opportunity but found that it did not deliver. We do deliver because we focus on more than just the technology."

The channel
Security Coverage has the technology in place, and is now growing its customer base. The company now claims over 140 telco customers in the U.S., and is looking for more. "The primary focus over the last two years has been building our channel program for telcos and cable companies," says O'Dell. "Our model today is almost 100 percent driven through service providers."

As part of that initiative, the company brought in Stephen Gray as Executive Chairman of the Board. Gray was a co-founder of McLeodUSA and was its CEO for more than two years.

Asked whether Security Coverage serves small companies too, O'Dell explains that the company delivers to customers in three tiers.

• Tier 3 is the telecom cooperative, independent ISP, and WISP.
• Tier 2 is ISPs with from 25,000 to 500,000 subscribers.
• Tier 1 is the biggest ISPs. "We use your list," says O'Dell. "Of the top 24, we're engaged with about 10 today."

We're most interested in the tier 3 product. "These ISPs don't have the resources to put together project teams, and they have no dedicated marketing groups," O'Dell replies. "We focused on how Security Coverage could offer a product that would be turnkey out the door. We looked at everything from provisioning to providing tier 3 ISPs with marketing campaigns they can go out the door with. As a result, we exceed their expectations."

The company also has recommendations on pricing strategies. "We share our best practices and experiences," says O'Dell.

Pricing and availability
SecureIT and SecureIT Plus are available now. Prices range from $0.75 per month per household (up to 3 PCs) to $3.95 per PC (for the top of the line version of SecureIT Plus. Volume discounts are available.

"As long as desktop security continues to be an issue that service providers are forced to address," says O'Dell, "we will be here with our unique way of solving the problem."

—End