Phoenix Managed Networks, a provider of payments communications, gateway and payment support services, has signed a deal with Mason Infotech, a communication provider, to supply its cloud-based secure payments service PhoenixSentry (view press release).Through the deal, Phoenix will supply PhoenixSentry to Mason Infotech, allowing the company to extend its services to the card payments business. The  managed service has been designed to help merchants achieve and maintain compliance with PCI data security standards. It starts at merchant locations, where the Phoenix appliance locks down payment networks to PCI DSS criteria and provides a primary connection to the Internet. Each appliance aims to provide on-site network security, while the central management system is used to configure and apply continuous compliance monitoring tools and safeguards.