4/15/2004 -- With a pair of recent acquisitions, Cisco has successfully positioned itself in the SSL VPN market and ratcheted up pressure on competitors Juniper Networks, Nortel Networks and Aventail.

So says Forrester Research, which notes that Cisco has done so for the bargain basement price of $44 million -- the combined outlay for SSL VPN software specialist Twingo Systems and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) interdiction powerhouse Riverhead Networks.

The upshot, write Forrester researchers Laura Koetzle and Robert Whiteley, is that the Twingo acquisition helps Cisco fill gaps in its existing SSL VPN portfolio, which lacks endpoint security mechanisms and doesn’t offer a network-level SSL client. (The latter shortcoming limits the number of applications that an SSL VPN can support, the Forrester researchers note.)

The result, researchers say, is a net win for customers. After all, Cisco already provides SSL VPN capabilities as a free enhancement to its VPN 3000 Series Concentrator line. “By integrating Twingo's features into this product line, Cisco's SSL VPN capabilities will reach parity with those of market leaders like NetScreen, Nortel, and Aventail,” Koetzle and Whiteley write. This should have far-reaching effects on the VPN SSL market as well, benefiting all customers. “Since Cisco will most likely continue to offer its newly expanded SSL VPN capabilities as a free upgrade, SSL VPN vendors will no longer be able to charge premium prices for their appliances,” they write.

In addition, Koetzle and Whiteley speculate that the Riverhead acquisition will help to broaden Cisco’s appeal among service providers – and turn up the heat on Juniper, which must now acquire DD0S technology of its own to retain service provider customers. “[T]he real sweet spot for DDoS gear is with network service providers like AT&T, Cable & Wireless, and NTT, whose customers demand cleaner pipes,” they write. “Cisco will use Riverhead's DDoS protection products to attract more business from network service providers -- the very customers that accounted for 95 percent of Juniper's revenue.”

In this respect, Koetzle and Whiteley speculate that DDoS start-up Arbor Networks could be Juniper’s most logical take-over target. -Stephen Swoyer