As a journalist at Australian Reseller News:
To combat time wasted at work, Internet security and productivity firm, NetBox Blue, has produced a security tool with a twist. Besides acting as a gateway that protects against viruses and spam, the NetBox also monitors traffic and generates reports that tell managers how employees have been using the Internet.
"Spam, firewall, etcetera has been done to death," NetBox Blue CEO, Trent Davis, said. "Our focus is mainly on monitoring usage with email and general traffic, blocking inappropriate access, and compliance by recording activity."
According to a recent survey, Brisbane residents conduct the second largest number of porn searches in the world.
Separate studies conducted by Brisbane-based NetBox Blue found that one company spent 18 per cent of Internet time browsing pornography sites. Porn sites were found to be among the top 10 websites used by staff of another large company.
"Firms are losing thousands of dollars in productivity because staff are viewing pornography and other non-work related websites instead of focusing on their proper tasks," Davis said. "The NetBox puts managers back in control of their network. It's designed to do everything to do with managing an Internet connection."
The NetBox is available in a range of models to cater for small and large businesses. Small offices with 5-10 users are typically recommended the NetBox appliance, retailing at $1290. Larger companies with up to 2000 users may purchase $300,000 IBM-certified NetBox software, which has been designed to work on IBM servers.
NetBox Blue has a direct reseller model with more than 60 resellers Australia-wide, although most of their resellers are located in the Eastern states. Margins range from 15 to 30 per cent, depending on the appliance or software model.
NetBox Blue also manages virus definition updates on all NetBoxes to simplify the support role of resellers, who are typically expected to provide end-users with product installation and support.
