WatchGuard firewalls and associated security services are now available on three-year or monthly pay-as-you-go terms with no upfront payment.

This arrangement is said to be an industry first, and allows resellers to offer their customers the flexibility of upfront purchases or subscriptions.

The pay-as-you-go subscription avoids inflexibility: with no long-term commitment, customers can suspend, activate, reassign and scale security services as their needs change over time.

The scheme covers WatchGuard's tabletop and rackmount Firebox firewalls and associated security services.

For example, the recommended price of a WatchGuard Firebox T20 with three year standard support monthly subscription" is approximately $31 a month.

"The launch of this new subscription service in Australia is perfect timing for many small to medium-sized businesses as it provides access in uncertain times to all the latest Firebox hardware functionality appliances with zero upfront costs, no long-term contracts and fixed monthly billing," said WatchGuard Technologies ANZ regional director Mark Sinclair.

"At the same time, Leader Systems are one of the few Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers in the country so it can now offer businesses a one stop shop for all their subscription licensing needs.

"The combination of Leader Systems' expert, national distribution and delivery with the WatchGuard subscription service will also be a winning formula for reseller success in signing on companies who might be suffering from cashflow issues in the months ahead yet require the best cyber security without the upfront cost of hardware to ensure their own business continuity."

Leader Systems managing director Theo Kristoris said "Our aim is to help our resellers grow and be profitable and the WatchGuard subscription service is an affordable solution for end users at a time when businesses are looking at their cost base. At the same time, it will enable us to further drive agility, flexibility in the channel.

"The combination of our easy to use marketplace portal, nationwide warehousing infrastructure and WatchGuard licensing will allow us to automatically assign an appliance to a customer, provide fast delivery and unleash cash flow necessary for streamlined end user business operations"

In related news, WatchGuard has released three new firewalls.

The T20, T40 and T80 Fireboxes are designed for small, home and midsize offices.

"As internet speeds continue to increase and threat actors leverage sophisticated tactics to compromise networks and users, businesses can't afford to compromise on security or performance," said WatchGuard vice president of product management Brendan Patterson.

"Small and midsize organisations without adequate security resources require the best of both worlds. With leading throughput levels, layered security services, zero-touch SD-WAN capabilities and many other benefits, our new line of tabletop security appliances provides just that."

For example, the T20 Firebox is said to have a firewall throughput of up to 1.7Gbps, with full-scan unified threat management running at up to 154Mbps.