Dell's Security Opportunity

This week, Dell announced its entry into the SMB security market with a portfolio of products and services. The initial portfolio is fairly simple, with Dell partnering with others for endpoint security, network security, and security services. There is no shortage of vendors in the security space, but I believe Dell has an opportunity here. Security issues don't discriminate by organizational size -- small companies have to have the same type of protection that larger ones do. That said, security is complex and grows more difficult daily. Dell has the opportunity to help SMBs simplify security by providing tightly packaged and configured end-to-end security solutions. Yes, others can do this to but most security vendors have wide gaps in their portfolios. Dell can sell systems, storage, networks and the whole security enchilada. In the short-term Dell will really be another point products security provider so its presence is likely to hurt network security players like Fortinet and SonicWall and the army of endpoint security vendors. In the longer-term as it adds to its portfolio, broadens its services, and starts to understand security best practices and methodologies like the Consensus Audit Guideline (CAG), Dell can truly be an SMB security partner. Security provides Dell with a unique opportunity to help customers overcome complex security challenges and increase its value. In this way, security may be even more valuable that its existing hardware portfolio.