Security vendor Symantec announced plans May 9 to extend its Business Critical Services of advanced security and availability offerings across its enterprise portfolio, creating an end-to-end security service package.

The offering marries the legacy service programs of Symantec and Veritas, acquired by Symantec in 2004, and aims to provide enterprises with an integrated security support solution with a single point of contact to deliver faster resolution of issues and proactive risk mitigation, a Symantec spokeswoman said.

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The package is a premium offering with a "single throat to choke," said Hal Stanley, Symantec's senior director of support product management.

The current configuration of Business Critical Services includes deeper knowledge of the user's environment when issues arise and a designated account manager to foster a relationship between the customer and vendor.

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The package is tied to support services, personalized account planning and direct access to senior Symantec support personnel.

SLAs (service-level agreements) will be key to the package, as well as clearly defined response and restore to service times. This includes 15-minute response and one-hour restore time for Severity One events, Stanley said.

It does not go the extra mile with monitoring and environment management to perform as a managed services offering, Stanley said. But, "I could see this playing a role in a provider's MSP offering," he added.

The offering and delivery is still being designed, Stanley said, and would likely be offered by VARs in the future. Delivery is likely to be a direct offer.

The vendor plans to roll out the program in phases beginning in this summer, the spokeswoman said.

Symantec's Business Critical Services business is growing at about 50 percent annually, with a 97 percent renewal rate, according to Symantec.