On-demand managed security services provider Perimeter Internetworking (perimeterusa.com) says it offers a reasonable alternative for small to medium-sized businesses that can't necessarily afford to set themselves up with the highest level of protection. Instead, perimeter leases them access to its network of security services.

"The traditional approach to managed security is that you either own a box or are given a box and you manage it," says Brad Miller, CEO of Perimeter Internetworking. "The problems with that model are that you can only do what that box is programmed to do that day. So they haven't really made it easy to use for the small to medium-sized company, they've just provided the necessary labor to manage an application like that."

Perimeter's Security-in-the-Cloud solution connects businesses to the Internet through Perimeter's multi million dollar security infrastructure, without the cost or complications of expensive systems integration projects.

Security-in-the-Cloud is offered as a subscription based, pre-integrated security utility. The application service helps companies reduce the amount of time and work it takes to address urgent security issues without integration risk.

"With Security-in-the-Cloud, we build the security infrastructure of a large company, and share that environment amongst all of our clients," says Miller. "Our clients connect to us before going out to the Internet. We act as a buffer between them and the Internet."

The managed security service redirects traffic through a central security platform, blocking bad traffic before it makes its way to the client. By accessing the centralized platform or security utility, clients can have quick, cost-effective access to dozens of security technologies.

The centralized architecture offers pre-integrated technology with complete redundancy and continuous upgrades, backed by a 24-hour engineering staff of trained experts.

Launched a year ago, Perimeter's Gateway 4.0 is the fourth generation of the Security-in-the-Cloud solution, combining dozens of technologies from vendors to create the industry's first "business aware" perimeter security service.

The Gateway security service replaces firewall and IDS monitoring services with a hosted, network-based service that removes the need for capital expenditures and integration costs.

Gateway 4.0 provides over 60 pre-integrated network security services including intrusion defense, malicious code defense, secure email, secure access, automated compliance and network services.

Perimeter has focused its Security-in-the-Cloud efforts almost entirely on banks and other financial institutions in the past, arranging a number of high-profile partnerships with United Bankers' Bank, Nebraska Bankers' Bank and the Credit Union National Association's strategic services.

More recently, however, remote managed services and internal IT infrastructure provider Citadel Perimeter joined Perimeter?s Instant MSSP channel partnership program, providing it with a comprehensive suite of managed security services available on-demand.

Whether its clients are a financial institution or IT reseller, Perimeter is determined to solving the dynamic issue of security threats and will continue to add new features and services as new threats emerge.