Firewall Systems adds NetBotz

Security distributor Firewall Systems has added NetBotz IP-based remote monitoring appliances to its portfolio.

NetBotz's WallBotz range is supposed to close a gap between physical security and IT security.

The plug-and-play devices have a camera in the front panel and internal sensors to monitor humidity, temperature, airflow and sound volume, NetBotz said.

Another four ports allowed for more external sensors. The boxes also had a PCMCIA slot.

Scott Frew, chief executive at Firewall Systems, said the US IP-based remote-monitoring market was valued between US$360 and US$500 million. But Frew was cagey on the Australian market's worth.

“Australian companies tend to be more distributed, so the Australian market could be a bigger market,” he said. “A lot depends upon how our culture reacts to the idea of constant surveillance in the workplace.”

Firewall Systems marketing director Nick Verykios said the distributor hoped to do at least $20 million in NetBotz sales in two years.

Firewall intended to attack the market initially through systems integrators such as Netlan, Hansen Information Technology and Intech.

“The low hanging fruit is a little hard to identify at the moment. In six months we’ll have a better idea but at the moment we think Australia will follow the US experience and education and health sectors will be early adopters of this technology,” Verykios said.

Frew said most companies neglected the physical security aspect of their IT infrastructure. “The best security in the world is not much use to you if everything in your data centre falls over because the air conditioning has stopped running.”

NetBotz’s web-enabled management system, NetBotz Central, was cost $3000 to $100,000 depending on an organisation’s size, distribution of sites and the level of monitoring.

It could manage SNMP-based devices and interfacing with systems automation and monitoring packages such as IBM’s Tivoli and HP OpenView, the company said.