Kerio Control 8 includes an IPSec VPN server; Kerio Operator 2.1 Offers New Softphone Application

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 12, 2013 - Kerio Technologies today announced that it has significantly updated two products for the evolving IT network. Kerio Control 8, a UTM security appliance, now includes IPSec virtual private network (VPN) capabilities. Kerio Operator 2.1, an IP PBX phone system, now features a native softphone application, which allows users to connect to their Kerio Operator phone line via their smart phone. Both enhancements are designed to provide more flexibility to IT managers and employees that use popular iOS and Android smart phones.

"BYOD has changed the way we function, and the corporate IT network must change as well," said James Gudeli, senior director of business development, Kerio Technologies. "With the addition of the IPSec open standard connectivity, iOS and Android devices, including iPads, can securely connect to the corporate network. Our new Operator softphone application will convert an iPhone or Android phone into a VoIP handset, letting people make and receive calls via their office number from anywhere."

IPSec is the industry standard protocol for VPN that allows interoperability between different external devices and the network gateway. Kerio Control 8 includes IPSec VPN with support for the current iOS and Android mobile clients. It also supports standards based VPN server-to-server configuration with several leading UTM vendors. Most importantly, all of Kerio Control's traffic policy configurations, protocol inspection, anti-virus and QoS settings can be applied to the IPSec VPN tunnels.

The Kerio Operator Softphone, available on the iPhone and Android, is a SIP-based phone application that uses a Wi-Fi or cellular data network to connect to the IP PBX server. It makes phone calls easy with an intuitive interface that includes all of the standard phone features such as integrated contacts, call display, call history, voicemail and multiple call support. Multitasking functionality also allows the Kerio Operator Softphone to run in the background while you use your device, allowing you to reference other applications while on a call.

"I look around and see iPhones everywhere. Getting them tightly integrated into the office network is a challenge," Sam Wilson, president of swc group, LLC, a Kerio certified partner in Chicago. "It starts with a secure connection to the corporate network and continues into communication, so the new Kerio Control and Operator make perfect counterparts for the iPhone."

A Kerio Control software server license starts at $265 USD and includes 5 users. Additional users are $26 each. Hardware appliance pricing starts at $985 for the Kerio Control Box 1110 with 5 users, which includes Sophos gateway antivirus and Kerio Control Web Filter. Kerio Operator is $30 USD per user. The Kerio Operator Box 1210 hardware appliance is priced at $900.

Both Kerio Control 8 and Kerio Operator 2.1 are available for download immediately with a 30-day unrestricted evaluation period. Visit http://www.kerio.com for more information.