Dell, Symantec hook up for Exchange

Dell and Symantec are teaming up to deliver protection for Microsoft Exchange-based email systems.

The PC and server maker and the software vendor are combining their products in an offering dubbed Secure Exchange. The product is designed to take time and complexity out of running a secure, reliable Microsoft Exchange email system with archiving capabilities, the companies said.

Judy Chavis, director of business development and global alliances at Dell, said: "Everybody uses email. We're making it easier for you to secure your email system."

The announcement comes just a week after Symantec announced a partnership with Juniper Networks to load more of its security technology onto Juniper's networking devices. Earlier this year, Symantec said it would curtail its own security appliance business.

Secure Exchange is made up of Dell PowerEdge servers, PowerVault storage, Dell/EMC storage and several Symantec products, including Symantec Mail Security 8200 Series, Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange, Symantec Enterprise Vault and Backup Exec, the companies said.

The starting price for a back-up and recovery system for 500 mailboxes is $54,678, which includes Dell PowerEdge 1950s, PowerVault 112T, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Symantec Backup Exec, Dell and Symantec said in a statement.

This is Dell's first product bundle partnership around Exchange. The company has similar offerings related to the Oracle Database and Oracle Applications, as well as clustered computing, Chavis said.

The product is available in Europe and the US, and is aimed at medium-sized organisations with between 500 and 2,000 mailboxes on a Microsoft Exchange email system.

Joris Evers writes for CNET News.com