Security Solutions Tailored For You
By CMD Technology Group
6 min read
Technology moves pretty fast these days. 5 yrs ago, the hottest trends in tech were virtualization, SaaS, and cloud computing. While still popular to be sure, today everyone is buzzing about IoT, blockchain, and AI. One tech area that has never been at the top of people’s lists is antivirus protection.
Protecting what you already have doesn’t seem to hold the same appeal as bleeding-edge innovation. The same way no one gets excited by the tires that come with a brand new car. Even though those tires are crucial to the smooth ride of the vehicle, it’s handling, and most importantly, it’s safety. It’s easier to be diverted by the array of cool sensors, infotainment feature sets, and horsepower than the most innovative tire (Sorry Michelin). Take away those good tires, and you’ll undoubtedly notice though!
“The car is okay, but check out those tires!” said no one, ever.
Of course, great strides are developing in cyber protection, and dare I say exciting innovations that bring some serious cool factor to the space. One of the standout players in the space is Bitdefender. “Bitdefender who?” you may ask. It may not be a name that strikes you as familiar. However, being one of the largest cybersecurity vendors in the world, there’s a good chance you have already benefited from their technology. Companies like Cisco, FireEye, and Vipre, to name a few, have built their platforms using Bitdefender’s security engines as a foundation.
This year our team at CMD has tightened its focus on the security space. One aspect that continues to impress us is not just the power of Bitdefender’s GravityZone collection, but its ease of use. The engineers at Bitdefender have done such an excellent job in this regard that we would go so far as to say that it is actually fun to use. Imagine that, security software that you enjoy using!
So what’s all the fuss about? It comes down to one word, simplicity. The simplicity of management allows users to take full advantage of the immense intelligence powering this defense system. For a more in-depth discussion about some of the features available and how they work, check out our earlier posts here and here.
What we want to address here is not whether you need protection or not, of course, you do, and we’re sure you understand that. Instead, we are going to look at the different flavors of GravityZone and help you decide which is suite is right for you.
Bitdefender GravityZone Bundles
Business Security
Advanced Business Security
Elite Security
Ultra Security
A La Carte Solutions
Enterprise Security
Cloud Security for MSPs
Add Ons
Patch Management
Full Disk Encryption
Security for AWS
Each of these bundles is built on the GravityZone platform that supports deployment for on-premise, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures and management of physical, virtual, and mobile endpoints. It supports Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android. Each bundle is comprised of various supported features mentioned above. (for a helpful comparison guide check out the following link)
So how can you determine which bundle is right for you? Well, consider three key areas, the components of your IT infrastructure, the level of threat risk your business is engaged in, and the resources available to you.
The needs of small businesses versus large enterprises are vastly different. So, one has to consider the types of endpoints that need protection. What operating systems are in use? Are you looking to secure on-premise devices or cloud as well? What kind of personnel do you have to monitor and manage the security system?
Business Security and Advanced Business Security
In our experience, most will find Business Security and Advanced Business Security the perfect fit for their needs. Small businesses, in particular, with limited resources and a simple IT infrastructure, such as a handful of workstations and a few physical and virtual servers, will get the most benefit out of the Business Security bundle. For midsized organizations looking for simple yet effective security solutions, Advance Business Security fits the bill. The differences between the two bundles come down to four key features. Advanced Business Security adds Datacenter security (SVE), Mobile Security, Security for Exchange, and Smart Centralized Scanning.
Datacenter security (SVE) is excellent for those running virtualized environments in their infrastructures. Bitdefender’s focus here again is maintaining performance without sacrificing security. It supports VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and others.
Mobile Security (MDM) helps you protect and maintain privacy on your phones and tablets running iOS and Android. Complete with VPN, remote tracking, lock wipe features, and email account breach verification.
Security for Exchange helps determine whether emails coming through your mail servers could be spam or phishing threats. While it’s designed to use minimal resources, it still provides a powerful defense against email threat vectors.
Smart Centralized Scanning helps maintain performance with high-level protection by offloading antimalware processes to centralized security servers.
Elite Security and Ultra Security
Businesses that find themselves in healthcare, finance, or government work should consider their increased risk potential and look at the security features of Elite and Ultra. When processing personal data of customers, be it financial transactions or personal records, the threat of ransom attacks and other breaches are very real and very costly. If basic cybersecurity is like putting locks on your doors, Elite and Ultra add an alarm and surveillance system to warn you of threats before a catastrophic event occurs.
HyperDetect utilizes machine learning to detect the behavior of suspicious activity in the pre-execution stage. Now you can prevent breaches and reduce incident response efforts and costs.
Endpoint integrated Sandbox works hand in hand with HyperDetect. After analyzing suspicious activity if a definite determination of a threat cannot be made, sandbox analyzer detonates the code in a secure area and observes the behavior. After this observation is made, a definite determination can be made as to whether a genuine threat exists or not.
Visibility of suspicious activities allows security admins to trace the steps of an exploit. This birds-eye view will enable them to see precisely where it started and what execution took place, helping your team with remediate efforts.
Elite also offers application control for on-premise devices and Hypervisor Introspection as an on-premise add on. The significant difference between Elite and Ultra really comes down to the reports and analytics. The level of the detail provided and volume can quickly become overwhelming and counterproductive for an organization that does not have a dedicated security team. So our recommendation is to stick with Elite if you do not have this dedicated team.
The Team and Culture
Typically when we think of brands, we may think of carefully crafted and curated messaging. It’s final presentation rigorously market tested through focus groups and polished by a crack marketing team to make us see a company in a specific manner. However, every so often, a company comes along with a genuine spirit and good idea that cultivates a culture that attracts top talent and builds a loyal customer base. When they offer an incredible product or service with a team of individuals that are exciting and a pleasure to interact with, you get to experience the true power of an authentic brand.
Why am I talking about brands here? Well, a few weeks ago, we had the absolute pleasure of spending the day with Bitdefender’s team in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After months of interacting via phone and email, it was still a revelation to meet this incredible group of individuals in person. The excitement, joy, and to be frank the fun they demonstrate is directly tied to the fact that they offer an excellent product that is in a league of its own. They know it, leading independent labs know it, and it’s immediately apparent this is an exceptional company worth watching. They may be a small team, but they are slaying dragons!
So what is the point of all this? The truth is that the product genuinely speaks for itself. That is why we recommend downloading the 30-day trial. Try it out for yourself. See how simple yet incredibly powerful the GravityZone bundles are. You will not be disappointed when you see first hand how your infrastructure can benefit. It’s easy, it’s fun, and you can try it without obligation. What more could you ask for?
If you have a question about any of our solutions or any feedback you’d like to share, contact us. We would love to hear from you!
afernandez@cmdtg.com | (407) 442-0265