According to the report, Intel has been in discussions with its bankers regarding options for the Intel Security unit. The chip giant was not available for comment. Speculation about the security business emerges two months after Intel’s overall business announced 12,000 job cuts in order to focus more on the cloud, data center, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Intel Security, Symantec, and other PC security companies have struggled to remain front-and-center amid evolving IT, business models, and consumption models. Symantec announced layoffs in 2015 and sold its Veritas storage unit in 2015. In 2016, it also acquired Blue Coat and appointed a new CEO in order to boost growth.
Intel Security: How to Buy and Sell McAfee
Intel acquired McAfee for $7.6 billion in 2011 as part of a push to more closely develop PC processors and associated security. The acquisition came at a time when the IT industry was moving away from PCs to mobile and cloud services. The VARs also began to shift to managed service business models that generate recurring revenue streams, which weakened traditional PC software sales.
Further complicating matters, Intel shut down certain SaaS security services in 2015 without giving partners much notice. Amid all those transitions, Intel Security (the former McAfee) had mixed performance with emerging MSPs — many of whom discovered emerging security alternatives like Reflexion Networks (now owned by Sophos).
OpenDNS, now owned by Cisco Systems, and Webroot became friends with MSP software providers. They emerged as default security dashboards to thousands of channel partners around the world. Companies like Barracuda’s Intronis MSP Solutions and Datto are now blending security and storage solutions for MSPs. This is ironic considering Symantec’s failure to do so.
Despite all the market shifts, Intel Security’s business has managed to hold up fairly well. For its Q1 2016, the security unit’s revenue was $537 million — up 5 percent sequentially and 12 percent year over year, according to an April 19, 2016 earnings release.
Intel Security: Are You Regaining Your Focus?
In 2016, Intel has continued to push for security partners. Kenneth McCray became Intel Security Channel Chief in January 2016, announced a series of well-received moves, and hosted a partner summit in May.
We are reaching out to Intel to get an update on our security strategy.
What does this mean? Intel Security plans to discontinue McAfee SaaS products. Partners will need to find new solutions and go through the entire deployment and provisioning process again if they want their customers to have an endpoint and email security.
When will it go into effect? Intel Security will cease selling McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection and SaaS Mail Protection and Archiving in January 2016. The majority of subscriptions and support will end in 2017. mcafee intel security cancel Certain subscriptions will be supported through 2021 with limited support.
What about customers who are facing compliance issues? Your clients may be legally required to archive emails. Make sure you understand when end-of-life is for your subscription. Emails will be archived up to the expiration date of the SaaS subscription for SaaS Archiving. However, no new emails will be archived once the subscription has ended. Customers will have only six months to transfer their old emails into the new platform. Any emails not moved by that time will be permanently deleted.
What should I expect? Partners should keep these key points in mind while they wait for a permanent solution. Consider the time required to learn new technology, user interfaces, pricing models, and the support needed to provide and receive. It appears that McAfee subscriptions are still valid until January 2017. This gives you ample time to plan your course of action.
