Reseller Redstone Managed Solutions has unveiled the first in a planned portfolio of security managed services offerings, as it looks to go head to head with larger players such as Integrali

Redprotect Email, which falls under the Redprotect general portfolio, offers a fully managed email scanning service including anti-virus, anti-spam and policy enforcement capabilities.

Tariq Saied, managing director of Redstone Managed Solutions, said the service has taken six months to develop.

“Since our purchase of Tolerant [rival security VAR], one of the things we are looking to get into is managed security services,” he said.

“We are planning to look at a number of different services under the Redprotect banner, including a web content management service and network monitoring. What we are looking to do is have all of these services released within the next six to nine months.”

Saied said he is unconcerned that the managed security services market is becoming crowded and is planning to compete with similar services offered by rivals such as Integralis, Nebulas Security and BlackSpider.

“Trends normally start in the US and filter through to the UK and then the rest of Europe,” Saied said. “Practically everyone is selling managed services solutions in the US at the moment, so the UK is next in line. I am confident our timing is right.”

Saied added that the firm’s move to a recurring revenue model has been a key achievement since its acquisition of Tolerant.

However, Nick Garlick, managing director of rival security managed services player Nebulas, said the firm will have its work cut out.

“There is not a great deal of demand for managed services in the mid-market anymore as companies are tending to move everything in-house, so I think Redstone is going to find the market pretty tough.”