Mako set for success with all-in-one security box

The Dominion Post

18 September, 2006 By REUBEN SCHWARZ

Spam email is the bane of many people's digital lives, and many see spamming as the ultimate in selfish, inconsiderate behaviour.

Most junk mail comes from infected computers controlled by spammers remotely, so when a business finds out its own machines are sending out spam, it's both a worry and deeply embarrassing.

When Auckland's Cervina, which builds customised electrical systems for yachts, realised it had sent more than 1000 emails in five minutes, it needed to act quickly. It shut down the company's internet connection till it could find the problem, with no loss of face in the IT world.

The quick heads-up was courtesy of a small black box, supplied by Auckland's Mako Networks.

Mako's system acts as an all-in-one router, Web filter, firewall, ADSL modem and spyware detector. It's pitched as a total network management and security system.

The box itself is a simple ’plug and play’ device, handy for businesses without dedicated network staff. Installing it in a customer's office involves plugging in just three cords - the power, the network and an ADSL line.

It connects to secure central servers over the public internet, which record and monitor traffic on the network, including emails, websites and intrusion attempts. Customers manage their network over the web.

The company seems poised for global success, and chief executive Bill Farmer predicts a 10-fold increase in revenue this year to March 2007 on the back of strong overseas sales.

Mako sells through resellers and large telcos, and expects to earn many millions annually in the coming years from sales in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Its easy-to-use technology is finding favour with small and medium-sized businesses, as well as branch offices of multinationals. These face the same threats as big organisations, but don't have large IT budgets.

The company patented the communication technology between the router and central servers. Mr Farmer says it's a ’push’ service, comparable to a BlackBerry's push email technology.

If the servers find anything suspicious - like sending out thousands of emails in a short period - it either notifies the customer or shuts down an infected PC's internet connection.

Mako detects a problem in most cases within 10 minutes of being connected to a customer's network, Mr Farmer says. These range from intrusions to cyber-slacking.

The company sends monthly reports with the amount of time spent on different websites, as well as intrusion attempts, down to the level of individual PCs.

’It will identify computers on networks that have regularly accessed sites like Trade Me.’

Mako relies on resellers to sell its products in New Zealand and overseas. These are often large telcos which rebrand the routers as their own.

Mako and its resellers split the ongoing subscription fees. Most end-customers are in New Zealand, though Mako now has resellers in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and business overseas is picking up.

For the African market, where wireless connections dominate, the company modified the modems in its boxes to connect directly to high-speed wireless networks such as Wimax and the HSDPA standard for 3G mobile networks.

Mako's New Zealand clients include real estate firms and pharmacies, as well as Independent Liquor, which uses the routers in its overseas branch offices.

Mako was incorporated in 2002 as Yellow Tuna. Its shares are held mostly between Mr Farmer, founders Simon Gamble and Chris Massan, and employee Dennis Monks, who helped set up internet service provider Xtra.

After years of development, Mako made its first sale in 2002, and its first international sale in Britain in 2003. Early this year it struck a deal with Telecom-owned IT shop Gen-i which will resell its technology under the SecureME brand.

It has 21 staff worldwide with branch offices in Britain, Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Mr Farmer says it will open an Australian office next year.

Mako also wants to start selling into the US market next year, he says, and has joined the Global Access Programme at the University of California. The scheme matches companies with students in the university's MBA programme, who Mako will use to plan an entry into the US.

Mr Farmer expects the company to be profitable in the next financial year, but he says it isn't looking for outside funding at the moment.

’There will be a time when we've got the opportunity to expand a lot more aggressively overseas. At that point in time we'll be looking for external capital.’