Vendor Landscape: Endpoint Encryption

Transcription

1 Vendor Landscape: Endpoint Encryption Encryption from beginning to end(point)

2 Introduction The Endpoint Encryption market is evolving alongside the data it protects by expanding its mobile encryption capabilities. Enterprises should differentiate on platform coverage and integration with existing solutions. This Research Is Designed For: This Research Will Help You: Enterprises seeking to select an Endpoint Encryption solution for comprehensive protection of laptops, mobile devices, and removable media. Enterprises that have established an Endpoint Encryption strategy independently and need guidance in evaluating available products. Understand the capabilities that are available in a modern Endpoint Encryption solution. Evaluate Endpoint Encryption vendors and products for your enterprise needs. Determine which products are most appropriate for particular use cases and scenarios.

3 Executive Summary Info-Tech evaluated eight competitors in the Endpoint Encryption market, including the following notable performers: Champions Sophos offers highly capable and comprehensive products in the encryption space. The company is steadily growing through acquisitions, and offers affordable solutions. Check Point entered the encryption game early. It offers a safebet solution, and company stability for enterprises looking for a long-term vendor partnership. Value Award Check Point offers the most affordable Endpoint Encryption solution with a high-performing product at the absolute lowest price. Innovation Award Trustwave offers the unique Persistent File Encryption (PFE) feature that protects data in transit and at rest using Smart Tags, taking mobile protection to another level. Smart Tags protects only the data, not the devices it s on, so data is protected no matter how it s shared. Info-Tech Insight 1. The market is consolidating: Endpoint Encryption was primarily the product of smaller independent companies that are now being bought by security power players as they expand their product portfolios to remain competitive. 2. Integration is key: The ability of an Endpoint Encryption solution to integrate with BitLocker and SEDs, and manage them as well as all manner of endpoints from a single console, helps to ease deployment. 3. Protect data on the move: As devices and data become more mobile, protection remains paramount. Encryption solutions must encrypt removable devices as they transport data between devices. They must also consider smartphones, even just in managing the native encryption on the device.

4 Market Overview How it got here Endpoint Encryption products were first seen in 1991 with the release of PGP. McAfee bought the company in 1997, but the lack of interest in the product led McAfee to cancel support and dump the product in At the time, information sharing was not as common as it is today, and processor speed and memory amounts were low, so installing encryption adversely impacted the performance of computers. The first digital encryption standard, Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm, was released in As devices got more memory, became faster, and more mobile, DES was upgraded to Triple DES (3DES). In 2001 the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) became a US Federal (and de facto world) standard and remains so today; all players in this space support AES encryption. Where it s going The future of Endpoint Encryption is consolidation. Big endpoint players are in the process of buying up independent encryption providers Check Point, McAfee, Sophos, Symantec, and Trend Micro have all bought their way into the market. Encryption is part of the endpoint game, so these companies want to expand their portfolios to give themselves a competitive edge in their core capability. Integration will also be part of future product offerings. McAfee is the first to integrate encryption into their malware solutions for free. Other companies are on their way as they offer one security solution, and encryption at a discount, including the ability to manage both from the same console. Info-Tech predicts that within three years, Endpoint Encryption products will not be bought independently from endpoint protection solutions, but will be a default part of comprehensive packages. As the market evolves, capabilities that were once cutting edge become default, and new functionality becomes differentiating. Full disk encryption has become a Table Stakes capability and should no longer be used to differentiate solutions. Instead, focus on the solution s additional encryption options, such as the capability to encrypt certain files and folders and removable devices.

5 Encryption Vendor Landscape selection/knock-out criteria: market share, mind share, and market consolidation Strong security players like Trend Micro and McAfee are featured in this space, alongside up-and-coming vendors like Sophos, and the Canadian company, WinMagic. The market is still dominated by the heavy-hitters, but smaller vendors should not be overlooked. They re producing solid product portfolios and growing through acquisitions. For this Vendor Landscape, Info-Tech focuses on those vendors that have a strong market presence and/or reputational presence among small to mid-sized enterprises. Included in the Vendor Landscape: Check Point. One of the founders of the firewall space, Check Point has a strong presence in the security space. It offers the basics in encryption, and is one of the only vendors with smartphone data encryption. CREDANT. A privately-held company with a focus on industry verticals. Its encryption solution is focused on policybased encryption, but it costs more than others. McAfee. A long-time leader in security, McAfee offers a well-rounded encryption solution that integrates easily into existing systems. Sophos. In the security business for over 20 years, Sophos entered the encryption market in Its encryption solution has the lowest price, and can combine with and manage other solutions, such as BitLocker. Symantec. Despite being the world s largest security vendor, Symantec moved into the encryption market late. Its solution is straightforward, but it lacks in terms of advanced features. Trend Micro. The third largest security company in the world, and its acquisition of Mobile Armor in 2009 brought the company into the Endpoint Encryption game with a strong and affordable product. Trustwave. A privately-held company, Trustwave offers a highly usable product for administrators, but with few advanced features. WinMagic. A small Canadian company focused solely on encryption solutions. WinMagic is steadily growing globally with a product featuring enhanced pre-boot capabilities among other features.

6 Endpoint Encryption Criteria & Weighting Factors Product Evaluation Features The solution provides basic and advanced features & functionality. Features 30% 30% Usability Affordability The three year TCO of the solution is economical. Architecture 20% 20% Affordability Usability Architecture The solution s dashboard and reporting tools are intuitive and easy to use. The delivery method of the solution aligns with what is expected within the space. Product 50% Vendor Evaluation Viability Vendor is profitable, knowledgeable and will be around for the long-term. 50% Vendor Strategy Vendor is committed to the space and has a future product and portfolio roadmap. Viability 25% 30% Strategy Reach Channel Vendor offers global coverage and is able to sell and provide post-sales support. Vendor channel strategy is appropriate and the channels themselves are strong. Channel 15% 30% Reach

7 The Info-Tech Endpoint Encryption Vendor Landscape Champions receive high scores for most evaluation criteria and offer excellent value. They have a strong market presence and are usually the trend setters for the industry. Check Point Sophos Innovators have demonstrated innovative product strengths that act as their competitive advantage in appealing to niche segments of the market. Market Pillars are established players with very strong vendor credentials, but with more average product scores. Emerging players are newer vendors who are starting to gain a foothold in the marketplace. They balance product and vendor attributes, though score lower relative to market Champions. Trustwave WinMagic Credant Trend Micro McAfee Symantec For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Vendor Landscape is created, please see Vendor Evaluation Methodology in the appendix.

8 Balance individual strengths to find the best fit for your enterprise Product Vendor Overall Features Usability Afford. Arch. Overall Viability Strategy Reach Channel Check Point CREDANT McAfee Sophos Symantec Trend Micro Trustwave WinMagic Legend =Exemplary =Good =Adequate =Inadequate =Poor For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Harvey Balls are calculated, please see Vendor Evaluation Methodology in the appendix.

9 Check Point and Sophos offer the best bang for your buck What is a Value Score? Champion The Value Score indexes each vendor s product offering and business strength relative to their price point. It does not indicate vendor ranking. Vendors that score high offer more bang for the buck (e.g. features, usability, stability, etc.) than the average vendor, while the inverse is true for those that score lower. Price-conscious enterprises may wish to give the Value Score more consideration than those who are more focused on specific vendor/product attributes On a relative basis, Check Point maintained the highest Info-Tech Value Score TM of the vendor group. Vendors were indexed against Check Point s performance to provide a complete, relative view of their product offerings Average Score: Check Point Sophos Trend Micro WinMagic Trustwave CREDANT McAfee Symantec For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Value Index is calculated, please see Value Index Ranking Methodology in the appendix. For an explanation of how normalized pricing is determined, please see Product Pricing Scenario & Methodology in the appendix.

10 Basic Features represent the minimum standard; without these a product doesn t even get reviewed The Basic Features Feature Full disk encryption Centralized management system Encryption of non- Windows workstations Single sign-on with preboot authentication Directory compatible Description The product offers a full disk option that encrypts the entire physical disk as opposed to specific files or folders. The product offers a unified management console where users can run reports and upgrade the system. The vendor provides a product that is compatible with other operating systems, such as OS X. The product allows users to authenticate once and carry that authentication through Windows login. The product s management console integrates with resource management tools such Active Directory / edirectory. What Does This Mean? The products assessed in this Vendor Landscape meet, at the very least, the requirements outlined as Basic Features. Many of the vendors go above and beyond the outlined Table Stakes, some even do so in multiple categories. This section aims to highlight the products capabilities in excess of the criteria listed here. If Basic Features are all you need from your Endpoint Encryption services vendor, the only true differentiator for the organization is price. Otherwise, dig deeper to find the best price to value for your needs.

11 Advanced Features are the market differentiators that make or break a product Scoring Methodology Info-Tech scored each vendor s features offering as a summation of their individual scores across the listed advanced features. Vendors were given one point for each feature the product inherently provided. Some categories were scored on a more granular scale with vendors receiving half points. Advanced Features Feature File folder encryption Removable devices encryption Mobile devices encryption Integrates with BitLocker Integrates with SEDs Multi-factor pre-boot authentication Remote wipe Enhanced pre-boot What We Looked For The product offers protection for files and folders wherever they re stored, whether it s on laptops, desktops, mobile devices, etc. The product encrypts removable devices, such as USB devices. These devices can be used on other workstations without additional software. The vendor provides products that extend its mobile protection to include smartphones. The product is able to manage endpoints protected with Microsoft s BitLocker. The product is able to manage endpoints protected with inherent Self Encrypting Drives. The product provides authentication options beyond simple passwords at pre-boot. The product includes the ability to lock, key wipe, poison-pill, or remote wipe off network devices via over the air (OTA) capabilities. The product includes a pre-boot environment with capabilities beyond just authentication, such as network awareness and local disk access.

12 Each vendor offers a different feature set; concentrate on what your organization needs Evaluated Features File/Folder Encryption Removable Media Mobile Devices BitLocker Integration SED Integration Multi-Factor PBA Remote Wipe Enhanced Pre-Boot Check Point CREDANT McAfee Sophos Symantec Trend Micro Trustwave WinMagic Legend =Feature fully present =Feature partially present/pending =Feature absent For an explanation of how the Info-Tech Harvey Balls are calculated, please see Vendor Evaluation Methodology in the appendix.

13 Sophos; reliable, affordable, and capable Champion Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: $1 SafeGuard Enterprise Burlington, MA sophos.com 1985 Privately Held $1M+ Priced between $100,000 and $250,000 Overview Sophos has over 20 years of experience in the security field; the company entered the encryption market in 2009 with the acquisition of Utimaco. Strengths Sophos SafeGuard Enterprise security solution is one of the only solutions that integrates with BitLocker. SafeGuard features a shared user enhanced pre-boot authentication environment. Sophos offers the second lowest price for their well-rounded solution amongst the vendors evaluated. Challenges While Sophos is growing through acquisitions, it is still a small company relative to its competitors. It needs to stay on top of market needs to differentiate itself from bigger, more recognizable names. Info-Tech Recommends: Enterprises interested in the second most affordable solution, which is far from basic, will be more than satisfied with Sophos advanced features.

14 Check Point remains a stable bet in encryption with an easy-to-use product Champion Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: $1 Full Disk Encryption Redwood City, CA checkpoint.com 1993 NASDAQ: CHKP FY10: $1,097.9 million $1M+ Priced between $100,000 and $250,000 Overview Check Point entered the Endpoint Encryption space early through its acquisition of Protect Data, owner of Pointsec Mobile Technologies, in late Strengths Check Point offers a safe-bet solution with advanced features, such as multi-factor authentication, and smartphone encryption the only vendor evaluated to offer this feature. Check Point offers a well-rounded product and an affordable endpoint encryption solution, with the lowest price amongst the vendors evaluated. Challenges Check Point is not primarily committed to the SME space or to endpoint encryption products. It is first and foremost a firewall vendor, so customers looking for a vendor with specific focus on this area may look to other options. Info-Tech Recommends: Enterprises concerned with price will find Check Point an ideal option. The product has decent features and the most affordable price out of the vendors evaluated.

15 CREDANT offers a strong product, but at a steep cost to SMEs Innovator Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: $1 Mobile Guardian Enterprise Edition 200+ Addison, TX credant.com 2001 Privately Held $1M+ Priced between $250,000 and $500,000 Overview CREDANT is a long-term player in the Endpoint Encryption game as a company focused solely in that area. It recently celebrated its 10 th anniversary, and currently secures over 10 million endpoints globally. Strengths CREDANT recently entered into a Strategic Data Protection Partnership with Dell, developing the commercially-available Dell Data Protection Encryption portfolio under the Dell brand. Clients receive 24/7 support from Dell s support team. CREDANT s focus is policy-based encryption, a strategy that offers more flexibility at a higher management cost than FDE. Challenges CREDANT s focus on large enterprises and industry verticals keeps their prices higher, making them a less affordable choice for small to mid-size enterprises. CREDANT s ability to provide support in APAC may be compromised by lack of a localized support center. Info-Tech Recommends: CREDANT would be an ideal vendor for enterprises looking for a solution with strong advanced features; however, global companies may wish to be wary of CREDANT s weaker support organization.

16 McAfee offers a market differentiator with its centralized management console epo, but high costs along with it Market Pillar Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: $1 Endpoint Encryption Santa Clara, CA mcafee.com 1987 NASDAQ:INTC FY10: $2.1B $1M+ Priced between $250,000 and $500,000 Overview Security leader McAfee entered the encryption market in 2007 via its acquisition of Dutch startup Safeboot, this after abandoning the space just a few years earlier when it unceremoniously dumped PGP. Strengths Enterprises looking for stability and support will appreciate McAfee s proven longevity and strong support programs. One of McAfee s differentiators is the epolicy Orchestrator (epo), its holistic management platform. epo allows for seamless management of the entire McAfee stack via a single console. Challenges McAfee s high price points remain an issue, and may encourage customers to look elsewhere for a similar product. The epo management console is tremendously capable; however, in comparison to some of the encryption-specific consoles reviewed, it was deemed harder to work with and less intuitive. Info-Tech Recommends: McAfee offers a strong product for those enterprises willing to pay for it. McAfee s solution is the second most expensive amongst the vendors evaluated.

17 Trend Micro steps out into the encryption market with a recent acquisition, successful product, and low price Market Pillar Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: Endpoint Encryption Tokyo, Japan trendmicro.com 1988, United States Tokyo Stock Exchange 4704 FY09: $1.029B Overview Trend Micro is the third largest security company with a steady presence worldwide. The company was late to the endpoint game when it acquired Mobile Armor in late Strengths Trend Micro s encryption solution offers local recovery console access a user-facing pre-boot option in which authorized users can gain access to files and folders on the local disk. Trend Micro offers competitive pricing with one of the most affordable solutions amongst the vendors evaluated. $1 $1M+ Priced between $100,000 and $250,000 Challenges Trend Micro s acquisition of Mobile Armor, being as recent as it is, may create some integration issues. While Mobile Armor has been around for awhile, Trend Micro does not have experience in support of the product which could pose potential problems. Info-Tech Recommends: Trend Micro offers a comprehensive product that includes enhanced pre-boot and remote wipe, among other advanced features, all for the third lowest price out of these evaluated vendors.

18 Symantec s PGP line is capable and broad, but costly Market Pillar Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: PGP Mountain View, CA symantec.com 1982 NASDAQ:SYMC FY11: $6.2B (ended Apr. 1, 2011) Overview Symantec entered the encryption market in 2008 via an OEM partnership with Guardian Edge. They formalized their position when they acquired PGP and Guardian Edge in Strengths Symantec s PGP line of products is broader than just endpoint encryption, encompassing systems and fileservers in a broad encryption ecosystem. PGP Universal Server offers significant encryption management flexibility and capability. $1 $1M+ Priced between $250,000 and $500,000 Challenges Symantec currently offers two lines of endpoint encryption solutions, one each from the PGP and Guardian Edge acquisitions; until they are rationalized, there is significant opportunity for confusion among clients. Symantec is considerably more expensive than all of the evaluated solutions. Info-Tech Recommends: Enterprises just looking for a well-known name in security will find a good partner in Symantec; however, its solution is the most expensive and not ideal for cost-concerned enterprises.

19 WinMagic offers a solid product from a small company Emerging Player Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: $1 SecureDoc 100+ Mississauga, ON winmagic.com 1997 Privately Held $1M+ Priced between $100,000 and $250,000 Overview Canadian company, WinMagic, is one of a few vendors still focused solely on encryption solutions. It is still a small company, but it s steadily growing its global presence with small offices in the UK, Germany, and Japan. Strengths WinMagic debuted SecureDoc with Wireless PBConnex in It will allow global users to connect to the SecureDoc server and Active Directory before the OS loads, which can lessen system-management frustrations. WinMagic also has a key partnership with Lenovo, SecureDoc for Lenovo, for SEDs that meet the Opal standard. Challenges WinMagic is a small company that does not have a strong global reach, and therefore a weak support channel for customers outside of its offices areas. WinMagic s size, and being one of the few independent encryption companies left, makes it susceptible to acquisition by a larger vendor looking to expand into the encryption field. Info-Tech Recommends: WinMagic works well for enterprises that are close to the company or branch offices in order to obtain support. Despite its lack of global presence, WinMagic s solution offers many advanced features.

20 Newcomer Trustwave still has a way to go before it can contend with top players Emerging Player Product: Employees: Headquarters: Website: Founded: Presence: $1 Encryption 500+ Chicago, IL trustwave.com 2005 Privately Held $1M+ Priced between $100,000 and $250,000 Overview Trustwave, a newer company in the space, is another vendor that was late to the Endpoint Encryption game. It acquired the fast-growing company BitArmor in 2010 for its full disk encryption solution. Strengths Trustwave offers full disk encryption as part of its managed services, which also includes UTM, SIEM, and IDP for enterprises looking for a cost effective security option. Trustwave s Persistent File Encryption (PFE) feature keeps data encrypted as it moves between different devices, without the user having to worry about decryption/re-encryption cycles. Challenges Trustwave s encryption solution is compatible with Windows systems and Active Directory, but not for Mac, which eliminates Trustwave as an option for those users. Trustwave has only grown because of acquisitions, it has nothing of its own to offer. It may end up being an acquisition target itself if it has nothing of its own to offer. Info-Tech Recommends: Enterprises interested in a cost-effective Endpoint Encryption with minimal platform applicability would benefit from Trustwave s managed services and basic product.

21 Identify leading candidates with the Endpoint Encryption Vendor Shortlist Tool The Info-Tech Endpoint Encryption Vendor Shortlist Tool is designed to generate a customized shortlist of vendors based on your key priorities. This tool offers the ability to modify: Overall Vendor vs. Product Weightings Top-level weighting of product vs. vendor criteria Individual product criteria weightings: Features Usability Affordability Architecture Individual vendor criteria weightings: Viability Strategy Reach Channel

22 To streamline management, encryption tools must be able to manage the most platforms possible Managing ubiquitous data protection means addressing removable media, mobile devices, and third-party (BitLocker & SED) solutions. 1 Integration of the broadest number of endpoints/platforms Exemplary Performers 2 Feature/Price Balance Viable Performers 3 Complete Protection Adequate Performers 4

23 Price/performance blend is a key factor to most SMBs Product bang-for-the-buck comes from evaluating features and price, leaving all other factors aside. Exemplary Performers 1 Platform Breadth 2 Balance Between Cost & Capability Viable Performers 3 Complete Protection Adequate Performers 4

24 When nothing but the best will do the pinnacle of ability Top end capability is a measure of functionality and usability; leveraging one always requires the other. Exemplary Performers 1 Platform Breadth 2 Feature/Price Balance Viable Performers 3 The Most Capable Product, Money No Object Adequate Performers 4

25 Appendix Vendor Evaluation Methodology Value Index Ranking Methodology Product Pricing Scenario & Methodology

26 Vendor Evaluation Methodology s Vendor Landscape market evaluations are a part of a larger program of vendor evaluations, which includes Solution Sets that provide Vendor Landscapes and broader Selection Advice. From the domain experience of our analysts, as well as through consultation with our clients, a vendor/product shortlist is established. Product briefings are requested from each of these vendors, asking for information on the company, products, technology, customers, partners, sales models, and pricing. Our analysts then score each vendor and product across a variety of categories, on a scale of 0-10 points. The raw scores for each vendor are then normalized to the other vendors scores to provide a sufficient degree of separation for a meaningful comparison. These scores are then weighted according to weighting factors that our analysts believe represent the weight that an average client should apply to each criteria. The weighted scores are then averaged for each of two high level categories: vendor score and product score. A plot of these two resulting scores is generated to place vendors in one of four categories: Champion, Innovator, Market Pillar, or Emerging Player. For a more granular category-by-category comparison, analysts convert the individual scores (i.e. absolute, non-normalized) for each vendor/product in each evaluated category to a scale of zero to four, whereby exceptional performance receives a score of four and poor performance receives a score of zero. These scores are represented with Harvey Balls, ranging from an open circle for a score of zero to a filled-in circle for a score of four. Harvey Ball scores are indicative of absolute performance by category but are not an exact correlation to overall performance. Individual scorecards are then sent to the vendors for factual review, and to ensure no information is under embargo. We will make corrections where factual errors exist (e.g. pricing, features, technical specifications, etc.). We will consider suggestions concerning benefits, functional quality, value, etc; however, these suggestions must be validated by feedback from our customers. We do not accept changes that are not corroborated by actual client experience, or wording changes that are purely part of a vendor s market messaging or positioning. Any resulting changes to final scores are then made as needed, before publishing the results to Info-Tech clients. Vendor Landscapes are refreshed every 12 to 24 months, depending upon the dynamics of each individual market.

27 Value Index Ranking Methodology s Value Index is part of a larger program of vendor evaluations, which includes Solution Sets that provide Vendor Landscapes and broader Selection Advice. The Value Index is an indexed ranking of value per dollar as determined by the raw scores given to each vendor by analysts. To perform the calculation, Affordability is removed from the Product score and the entire Product category is reweighted to represent the same proportions. The Product and Vendor scores are then summed, and multiplied by the Affordability raw score to come up with the Value Score. Vendors are then indexed to the highest performing vendor by dividing their score into that of the highest scorer, resulting in an indexed ranking with a top score of 100 assigned to the leading vendor. The Value Index calculation is then repeated on the raw score of each category against Affordability, creating a series of indexes for Features, Usability, Viability, Strategy, and Support, with each being indexed against the highest score in that category. The results for each vendor are displayed in tandem with the average score in each category to provide an idea of over and under performance. The Value Index, where applicable, is refreshed every 12 to 24 months, depending upon the dynamics of each individual market.

28 Product Pricing Scenario & Methodology provided each vendor with a common pricing scenario to enable normalized scoring of Affordability, calculation of Value Index rankings, and identification of the appropriate solution pricing tier as displayed on each vendor scorecard. Vendors were asked to provide list costs for Endpoint Encryption to address the needs of a reference organization described in the pricing scenario. Additional consulting, deployment, and training services were explicitly out of scope of the pricing request, as was the cost of enhanced support options, though vendors were encouraged to highlight any such items included with the base product acquisition. The annual software maintenance rate was also requested, along with clarity on whether or not the first year of maintenance was included in the quoted costs, allowing a three-year total acquisition cost to be calculated for each vendor s Endpoint Encryption solution. This three-year total acquisition cost is the basis of the solution pricing tier indicated for each vendor. Finally, the vendors three-year total acquisition costs were normalized to produce the Affordability raw scores and calculate Value Index ratings for each solution. Key elements of the common pricing scenario provided to Endpoint Encryption vendors included: A mid-level clothing manufacturer/retailer, with corporate offices on the US west coast, east coast, and Ireland with 2200 global employees, is looking to implement a centrally managed Endpoint Encryption solution. The firm is interested in providing complete and comprehensive coverage for all types of mobile devices as well as coverage for select non-mobile endpoints. The company s Endpoint Encryption requirements breakdown as follows: The organization is interested in providing complete protection for 800 laptops. The organization is interested in providing file/folder level protection for 250 desktop devices. The organization is interested in providing complete protection for all removable media devices for all workstations (desktops and laptops) across the company as a whole. The organization wishes to be able to manage the entirety of the infrastructure by as few consoles (ideally one) as possible. The organization wishes to enter into an agreement that provides three full years of protection, including licensing, support, and maintenance and pricing should reflect that term. Because the organization operates on a 17 hour day (time span between the start of the work day in Ireland and the end of the work day on the west coast), it requires support availability over extended hours.