8e6 Technologies Re-Launches in the UK

By Dave Nixon

With the promise to entice SurfControl customers suspicious of being forced to upgrade to products from new proprietor, Websense US web filtering company 8e6 Technologies has re-launched itself in the UK.

The company plans, by using partner and reseller Wick Hill, to advance its R3000 web filtering appliance to the SurfControl customer base, whose products will probably be retired in the upshot of the company’s acquirement by Websense last April for $400 million.

According to 8e6’s Eric Lundbohm, the purchase has offered customers with an opening to select between rival systems in a way not possible had the two companies remained detached.

“We operate in a replacement market. Most of the time we are replacing Websense,” he said. The company had had an existence in the UK for a while, but had determined to expand more aggressively in the UK and parts of Europe only of late, despite being a comparative unknown.

The R3000 is a fairly uncomplicated appliance capable of URL interception via the company’s own database, signature-based detection for applications such as IM, P2P and illegal proxies, and laptop filtering. The company believes it has superior reporting – always a major problem with filtering boxes - than competitors systems. The company also sells a product called ProxyBlocker.

Managing director of partner Wick Hill, Ian Kilpatrick, believes that signing up both SurfControl customers at renewal time, in addition to possibly dissatisfied resellers, is an approach that will produce results.

“The street price is going to drop, with a lot of people selling the same product,” he said. “A large number of companies are being forced to migrate from SurfControl.”

Websense has not confirmed such a move in lucid terms, but a statement on its website indicates as much.

“There will be no requirement for you to “migrate” to Websense products during your Subscription Term. However, Websense offers best-of-breed technology in Web security and information leak prevention. Although we will continue to support your SurfControl products, we invite you to explore our solutions for intelligent content protection,” it says.

In spite of its startup-sounding name, 8e6 has been established since 1995, having been founded under the X-Stop name. It altered to its present name in late 2000.