Phoenix recruits resellers, integrators

The company wants to promote its device-authentication product in the federal sector.

Phoenix Technologies is recruiting federal resellers and integrators to advance its device-authentication product, which could get a boost from a recent Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) publication.

Phoenix recently released TrustConnector 2, a product that establishes a unique identity for devices on a network. It aims to limit network access to devices that have been granted permission. The National Institute of Standards and Technology released the final version of FIPS 200 earlier this month. The standard incorporates device authentication as a security control. The compliance deadline is March 2007.

Against this backdrop, Phoenix now targets value-added resellers and integrators that can help introduce the emerging product category in the federal sector.

“The products we are bringing are not yet being specified by the federal government,” said Keren Cummins, public-sector vice president at Phoenix. “It’s a new product category from the perspective of the federal customer. We are identifying integrators we think can help shape the government’s perceptions, expectations and requirements.”

Phoenix opened a Washington, D.C., office in late 2005 and has deployed a Trusted Partner Network for working with channel allies. In February, Phoenix announced that immixTechnology will hold General Services Administration schedule contracts for TrustConnector 2 and Recover Pro 6.

The latter product is a desktop-recovery application. GTSI offers Recover Pro on its Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement III contract.

In addition to the larger resellers and integrators, Phoenix plans to work with 8(a) firms and small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, Cummins said. She added that the company has put a program in place to identify key partners in those communities.