Outsourced email security, while far from new (Postini, Message Labs...) is a steady trend in the security marketplace. After recent announcements from Kaspersky (EmailDefense) and McAfee (Managed Mail Protection), anti-malware vendor Webroot said it would merge with email outsourcer Email Systems to offer small and medium enterprises a fully managed email security solution.

The new offering will combine anti-malware filtering by Webroot with Email Systems Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery platform and security offering (email archiving and compliance, image filtering, cryptography, anti-phishing protection, and so on).

No ETA has been announced for availability, although both vendors should have been planing their move early, and the tools might be well under way.