Intel Security has announced that it is decommissioning its McAfee SaaS Email Protection and Archiving products. The move means end of life for email archiving, encryption, protection and continuity from the provider, and the announcement has left countless customers scratching their heads and contemplating their next move.
In an email to customers, Intel Security announced that it will stop selling the decommissioned products on January 11, 2016, and will end support for them entirely in January of 2019.
So what’s the reasoning behind the decision to kill off these SaaS products? Intel Security says they are increasing their investment in “solutions for the endpoint, cloud, threat detection and management that will ensure the security of the endpoint and cloud and all data traversing in between,” a shift in focus that requires them to sunset other product areas. In short, Intel is developing a new, integrated email security platform that they believe will be better-suited for the future. Apparently, the McAfee products aren’t proving to be as reliable or scalable as Intel might have hoped, particularly as email security moves increasingly to the cloud.
But what does this move mean for customers of Intel Security and McAfee email security? Intel Security announced that customers of the current SaaS suite consider alternatives such as Proofpoint, a third-party email security and data archiving provider. An FAQ sheet from Intel Security said customers would be contacted with details on how to upgrade. For those making the leap to Proofpoint, the upgrade process will likely require users to set up new accounts, install updated software, increase their investment in email security and more—quite a feat in any medium-sized or enterprise business environment.
Many customers are already balking at the price difference: Proofpoint Essentials Business starts at $26.40 a year per user—up to 10 times more expensive than other email security solutions.
For those customers who opt not to upgrade to Proofpoint, Intel Security will not offer any extended support or options for replacing or scaling their existing hardware. Those who need to add hardware to their current deployment will have to rely on the virtual appliance.
Understandably, the announcement from Intel Security has left plenty of customers in a difficult position. Do you upgrade to Proofpoint and pay more, or hang on to your original McAfee email security until the support period ends, knowing that you won’t be able to add hardware if necessary? It’s a tough decision that follows a surprising turn of events.
As Intel Security abandons its McAfee SaaS Email Protection product, the team at Sendio believes that customers shouldn’t be forced into another solution, especially when it is going to strain their budgets. Instead, take this opportunity to explore a new hosted email security solution that costs less and uses tightly integrated layers to providing leading threat protection. Schedule a demo of Sendio Email Security today.