The partnership reportedly takes advantage of the complementary capabilities of the two companies' technologies. The Riverbed Services Platform (RSP), a virtualized, extensible data services platform, allows customers to deploy best-of-breed edge services. Check Point Security Gateway R70 provides customers a comprehensive set of centrally managed best-in-class security protections. Through Check Point's unique Software Blade architecture, customers can select the exact security protections they need for an environment, including firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention, antivirus, anti-spyware, URL filtering, Web security, anti-spam and policy management software blades. Customers can deploy virtual appliances, such as Security Gateway R70, directly on Riverbed Steelhead appliances to minimize complexity at the branch office and reduce costs and operational overhead.
"As a cost savings measure, many enterprises are looking to execute on IT consolidation initiatives. The RSP allows enterprises to streamline IT resources while lowering operational and capital costs," said Alan Saldich, vice president of product marketing at Riverbed. "By combining these business-critical services -- from Check Point and Riverbed - in one solution at the branch, enterprises are able to take advantage of superior security and acceleration, while lowering operational costs."
"The cooperation between Check Point and Riverbed brings customers WAN optimization together with robust security, all in a single solution," said Amnon Bar-Lev, vice president of field operations at Check Point. "Check Point Security Gateway R70 on Riverbed's Steelhead appliance is a creative approach that leverages virtualization technology and adds to it Check Point's renowned security capabilities."
Running on the RSP will offer customers the combination of Check Point's market-leading security and the core Riverbed acceleration functionality within a single hardware platform -- the Steelhead appliance. Using the RSP, customers can deliver virtualized edge services for branch offices that are both best-of-breed and cost-effective.
Based on Check Point's new Software Blade architecture, Check Point Security Gateway R70 provides businesses with flexible security. The Software Blade architecture empowers businesses with the ability to select the exact security applications or "software blades" they need from a library of over 20 software blades. New software blades can be added without deploying new hardware, reducing deployment times and operational costs.
"Consolidation at the branch is a top priority for enterprises as they look to implement cost-cutting initiatives. Enterprises, however, are challenged with keeping their IT infrastructure secure and their workforces efficient, while eliminating costs across the organization," said Jon Oltsik, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group. "The partnership between Check Point Software and Riverbed provides a solution to these challenges by providing best-of-breed security and WAN optimization on one virtualized platform. By taking advantage of the virtualized platform, organizations can eliminate operational costs without compromising the performance or security of their IT infrastructure."
The joint solution is scheduled to be available in the second quarter of 2009. Check Point Security Gateway R70 for Riverbed Steelhead appliances can be purchased through Check Point's worldwide network of value-added resellers.