Proventia Endpoint Secure Control (ESC) aims to support software security clients for multiple vendors in four areas: system protection, data protection, configuration management and system maintenance.

Initially, Proventia ESC will support anti-virus software from that can be deployed on the ESC agent and fully managed via the ESC management platform, but IBM says it plans to add more vendors and more products over time. Proventia ESC can also manage security applications that are part of IBM's Proventia Desktop.

The platform is designed as an alternative to static desktop security suites by the likes of McAfee and Symantec that lack the flexibility to pick and choose which vendors supply, for instance, anti-virus software and which provide personal firewalls.

recently introduced a similar modular approach to network security that supports an a la carte selection of security applications, but it supports only Check Point products.

Proventia ESC grew out of a desire to provide an alternative for businesses that want to deploy multiple security agents on each desktop or laptop.