Our recent acquisition of Counterpane Internet Security is the latest BT initiative to expand our range of security services available to global enterprises. Counterpane is a household name in the security world, not least because of the reputation of its founder and CTO, Bruce Schneier, the internationally renowned security author, publicist and technology expert. Following the acquisition the new company, BT Counterpane, is set to play a valuable role in BT’s portfolio of networked IT services and solutions.
We’re delighted to be able to bring you excerpts from an interview with Bruce Schneier and with Ray Stanton, head of BT’s global business continuity, security and governance practice. Mike Arnavutian, Security Marketing Manager for BT, caught up with Bruce and Ray shortly after the acquisition to get their views on the security market, and what the acquisition means for customers.
Why did BT decide to acquire Counterpane?
Ray Stanton: “We realised how important threat monitoring services was becoming to our customers, and we had a choice between creating that capability ourselves or partnering with someone such as Counterpane. Once we had decided we would not build it ourselves, we quickly realised that Counterpane, as visionary/leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP), was the ideal partner.”
Bruce – why BT?
Bruce Schneier: “When I started Counterpane, I had the vision we would be acquired by a company that offers much broader services. Securityneeds to be embedded in a suite of larger services – network, and telephony, and computer services – so when we were looking for partners we always looked to the large companies like BT.”
“BT offers a set of security services that fits very well with what Counterpane does. There’s no overlap in what we do, so it was clear that merging the two companies would be very beneficial to both…our people and BT’s people worked well together, and the philosophy of BT matches the philosophy of Counterpane. And since this is a philosophy I tried to instill over Counterpane’s seven years, it all seemed like a natural fit.”
Bruce, you pioneered managed security services in the early days. How do you see this market developing over the next few years, and what are the main drivers?
Bruce Schneier: “Security is IT infrastructure, and infrastructure is always outsourced. When I started Counterpane in 1999, I said that there is no reason for any company to have their own security expertise. It’s no different from fire fighting, or guarding your lobbies, or police protection; you outsource these things, and that makes sense. But it has been slow.”
“The companies that BT deals with have realised that you outsource IT; they are outsourcing much larger chunks of their infrastructure to BT, and security is a part of that. A company shouldn’t have to buy security separately; security should be a part of everything they buy. And that’s how BT looks at security; it becomes embedded in everything. So when I look at the future of managed security services, I don’t see security outsourcing I see the future of outsourcing IT, which security is just a part of.”
Ray, can you tell us a bit about the process of the integration of Counterpane into BT?
Ray Stanton: “Counterpane will continue to run as an individual company, until April 2007, but between now and then we will have teams, from BT and BT Counterpane working together in looking at key integration areas like remote access, systems and services , processes, people…The main point is that we can carry on doing business, and serving customers, without overwhelming the Counterpane organisation, but at the same time making that organisation feel an integral and vital part of the whole process.”
Can you summarise your message to Counterpane’s existing customers, and to customers in the rest of BT?
Bruce Schneier: “Security will become both more important and less important. More important because it will become embedded in every IT networking and telecom project and service that you have. And less important because you won’t have to think about it explicitly. It will just be there, and it will just work. Security should be part of infrastructure – that is BT’s vision and that is my vision.”
Ray Stanton: “When we approach our customers in security, it’s about meeting all their needs in imaginative and innovative ways. It’s about security being holistic in nature, and in the expectation of a service brought together and managed professionally and expertly by skilled and experienced people….We will use this opportunity to introduce new and innovative services that will excite our customers; Federated Identity Management is one of those, as an example, but there will also be others. Watch this space!”
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