Suzanne Mattaboni
Suzanne Mattaboni Communications
For D&H Distributing
(610) 261-4560
suzgm@aol.com

For Immediate Release:

D&H OFFERS CYBER SECURITY SOLUTIONS, TRAININGS TO HELP VARs PROTECT END-USERS FROM A RANGE OF THREATS

-- Solutions Such as Cisco AnyConnect, AMP, and Umbrella Address a Unique Set of Security Challenges Inherent in Modern Networking Environments --

HARRISBURG, PA - October 10, 2017 - D&H Distributing, the leading North American computer products and consumer electronics distributor, announces it is enhancing its focus on the unique and growing roster of cyber security threats inherent in the typical modern office environment. As businesses adapt to trends such as an increasingly mobile workplace and a higher degree of digital services and off-site data transfers, networks are more vulnerable than ever to cyber security attacks. Resellers therefore need to be more diligent in their security offerings, providing a comprehensive combination of solutions to combat threats via the multiple ports and points of entry typically in use in today’s business environments.

A recent Gartner forecast stated that by the year 2021, twenty-five percent of all corporate data traffic at the average organization will bypass the network perimeter. Security challenges in the contemporary office range from a plethora of mobile devices and remote employees logging into the network from independent locations, to distributed branch offices sharing data from site to site, to peripheral physical devices such as IP surveillance video cameras connected to the network. This escalation of access points makes a network more widely exposed to infiltration by potentially devastating malware, such as ransomware and phishing. Evidence of cyber security devastation, even at industry-leading corporations, include the highly publicized recent breaches at Equifax and Deloitte.

“The standard network is now being accessed from a diversity of sites and equipment. It’s more of a challenge than ever to provide protection in all these scenarios,” said Peter DiMarco, D&H’s vice president of VAR sales. “Resellers need to be diligent and take a multi-layered, proactive approach. We’re not only dealing with stealthy external hackers and malware, we’re also guarding against internal threats that are introduced within the network borders, sometimes residing on the system undetected for a period before wreaking havoc. Such situations necessitate not just one, but a series of solutions. A comprehensive security offering will monitor activities, identify suspicious behavior, and mediate threats from all sources, external or otherwise.”

To address this mounting challenge, D&H is stepping-up its effort to educate VARs regarding a variety of security solutions. The distributor has conducted a series of educational sessions focused on security services that provide coverage for both internal and external threats, including filters and firewall platforms for protection from ransomware, anti-virus and malware solutions, and mobile device protection.

D&H recently offered a four-hour security Boot Camp for select customers at its new Mid-west Technology Show in August. The Boot Camp covered Cisco’s full portfolio, from the manufacturer’s traditional routing, switching and wireless solutions; to Cisco Meraki, and small business products, all with an overriding security theme. Demonstrations showed that regardless of what product category a reseller needs to address, Cisco offers an integrated security solution. This portfolio can be integrated into a powerful, streamlined security ecosystem, with threat intelligence provided by Cisco Talos, the industry-leading security intelligence and research group.

In addition, the distributor’s recent “You As A Service” Solutions Lab session walked attendees through a theoretical security sales scenario, wherein a VAR creates a hosted security solution for an SMB business client who has suffered a cyber-based breach. D&H resellers can view this presentation on-demand at https://www.dandh.com/solutions. In addition, D&H offers a specific marketing template on cyber security via its Partner Services marketing resource library to help VARs communicate this message to end-users. Many of these security solutions can be delivered via an ongoing, hosted platform that generates consistent revenues for the reseller, yet provides a more affordable monthly payment structure for the end-user.

Multiple Solutions for Comprehensive Security
D&H carries a growing portfolio of solutions that address these complex cyber security challenges, including a trio of offerings: Cisco Umbrella, Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP), and Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client. The open-system Cisco Umbrella platform is the industry's first Secure Internet Gateway in the cloud. It offers visibility into internet activity across all locations, devices, and users, blocking threats and mitigating possible breaches. Umbrella leverages internet activity patterns outside the network to uncover potential attacks, proactively blocking requests to malicious destinations. It serves as a filter between the user and the internet and eliminates threats before they're able to penetrate the network.

The high-performance Cisco AMP is an intelligence-powered, integrated enterprise-class advanced malware analysis and protection solution. An anti-virus engine delivers next-generation security across all endpoints within the network. It continuously monitors file behavior to identify attacks. The AMP solution not only blocks malware at the point of entry, but can also halt and remediate advanced threats that evade firewalls or other “first defense” protection. AMP is designed to protect an organization’s back-end applications, such as CRM, payroll, or HR functions

Cisco AnyConnect software facilitates highly secure access to a corporate network for any user, from any device, no matter where they’re located. Among its features is the Network Visibility Module that supplies insights into user behavior across wired, wireless, and VPN connections to more effectively pinpoint and defend against threats.
Cisco has further helped to defend clients’ networks by offering cost-effective Ransomware Defense, which uses an architectural approach to protect against advanced threats. When layered together, each service strengthens defenses, from the network to the endpoint to the cloud, with Cisco Umbrella, Cisco AMP for Endpoints, Cisco AMP for Email Security, Cisco Next-Generation Firewalls with Cisco Threat Grid, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), Cisco Security Services, and Cisco TrustSec technology.

“Malware is becoming more furtive and aggressive as time progresses, making cyber security a grave concern for businesses across the globe,” said James Mellis, president/CEO of Software Solutions and Designs, Inc., a reseller in Charleston, South Carolina. “Directives such as the European Union’s new GDPR regulations are evidence of its urgency. We appreciate D&H’s strategy to help us learn how to best combat these complex problems, through training and comprehensive, next-generation solutions from trusted partners. And the experienced Cisco team is instrumental in providing the technical and sales support we need to keep abreast of the products and services needed to keep our customers protected.”

About D&H Distributing
D&H Distributing believes the most important element of doing business is developing relationships for mutual success. The company continues to build upon its 99-year-old culture by providing its manufacturers, co-owners, and partners with the utmost customer care, consultative guidance, and multi-market expertise. As one of North America’s leading technology distributors, it delivers a wealth of enablement resources and hands-on support services that empower resellers in the IT channel.

The company engages with solution providers, integrators, and VARs to meet current business challenges, as well as forecast their evolving, real-world needs and prospects for lucrative growth opportunities. D&H maintains a special focus on independent VARs expanding their competencies in areas such as hosted and cloud services, the modern mobile workplace, comprehensive SMB server networks, and cross-market expertise across the small business, education, healthcare, and government verticals, to name a few. The company's value proposition includes professional marketing resources, a new transactional service model, dedicated Solutions Specialists, and a highly-lauded webcast training venue; plus reseller engagement events such as technology trade shows, roundtable opportunities, training “track” sessions, and hands-on "lab" sessions.

The distributor is headquartered in Harrisburg, PA, in the US and in Brampton, Ontario, in Canada. Additional warehouses are located in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Fresno, CA; and Vancouver, BC, Canada. Call D&H toll-free at (800) 340-1001, via www.dandh.com, or follow the distributor’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, https://www.facebook.com/DandHDistributing/ and @dandh.

#