 |
This week Microsoft is holding its TechEd 2007 conference and there’s a variety of news:
Bob Muglia, SVP of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business kicked off TechED 2007 by detailing the company’s strategy for Dynamic IT for the People-Ready Business (Dynamic IT). Apparently it was as bad as it sounds although there were some redeeming features.
More substantially, Muglia also announced assorted product news including the official names for Katmai and Orcas as well as revealing two acquisitions:
Sun’s JavaFX to take on AJAX, Silverlight in the Rich Internet Application (RIA) competition. I thought the days of slow, cheesy looking Java client apps were thankfully past, but I guess not. Hearing that “JavaFX Script leverages 2D graphics APIs in the Swing GUI toolkit” merely reminds me how awful Swing applications actually were. We’ll see if Sun can find a pony here with a scripting variant of Java, but I doubt it. While they were at it, Sun mostly open sourced Java.
Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar v1 released. I’ve long used something similar with FireFox, but one was really needed for IE.
SQL Server ‘Katmai’ Lacks Anticipated WinFS Features. Why spoil a perfect record? Related: David Boschmann explains Microsoft database projects Jasper and Astoria.
Microsoft publicly betas Tahiti, renamed SharedView. It’s a screen sharing program which up to 15 people can use for collaboration. There’s still no hint as to where it fits in the Microsoft galaxy of products although the original rumor was as part of Office Live.
Symantec attacks Microsoft’s Forefront Client Security. The fact that Forefront Client Security (for businesses) is using the same engine as the troubled OneCare consumer product leads to predictable snarking.
Microsoft signs Web video deals:
While it’s tempting to label the shows advertorials and leave it at that, Ben Silverman, Reveille’s chief executive, said he’s tried to find more elegant ways to incorporate products and entertainment.
I think Ron Popeil beat them to it.
Microsoft must answer racketeering claims over Best Buy deal.
Xbox Spring update released including Windows Live Messenger.
PS3 to ‘Win’ Console War Because of Blu-ray according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst.
Mac share of US Web surfers doubles in 8 months – it’s up to 6%
Today at a business partner security event in Los Angeles, Bob Muglia (Senior Vice-President, Server and Tools Business) launched Microsoft’s Forefront Client Security and System Center Essentials 2007:
Launched today, Microsoft Forefront Client Security is designed to help protect business desktops, laptops and server operating systems from viruses, spyware, Trojans and other current and emerging threats. Microsoft Forefront Client Security delivers critical visibility into threats and vulnerabilities through central management, and integrates with System Center solutions, Active Directory® directory services and other Microsoft technologies.
…
Muglia also announced the launch of System Center Essentials 2007, a unified management solution to help IT professionals in midsize organizations proactively and efficiently manage their IT environment. System Center Essentials 2007 provides the only unified solution to help simplify a broad set of tasks across the entire IT environment. The solution features a single console from which IT management can view and manage servers, clients, hardware, software and IT services.
…
Forefront Client Security is licensed on a per-user, per-device basis, starting at $12.72 per user or device, per year for the security agent and at $2,468 per year for the management console. The product is available for purchase today as part of the Microsoft Enterprise Client Access License suite via Microsoft Volume Licensing, with stand-alone product availability in July via standard Microsoft volume licensing channels.Microsoft System Center Essentials is offered as a management server with built-in support to manage 50 clients and 10 servers starting at $2,000. Customers can add up to 500 clients in increments of 20 or five Management Licenses (MLs), priced at $400 and $100 respectively, and up to 30 servers in increments of five and one ML, priced at $500 and $100 respectively. The product will be available in July via standard Microsoft volume licensing and retail channels. All prices are U.S. estimated retail prices.
There’s no shortage of entrenched vendors in either client security or infrastructure management so it will be interesting how Microsoft does as the new kid on the block. Their strength will obviously be in shops with both Windows clients and servers where they can claim unique knowledge, but that’s also their weakness in larger establishments which tend to be more heterogeneous.
Update: On a related note, Microsoft released Service Pack 3 (SP3) for Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004.
Elizabeth Montalbano for IDG News Service spots Steve Ballmer telegraphing the arrival of Microsoft’s hit on the lucrative corporate client security market:
The business client security product Microsoft has been working on since 2003 will finally make its debut in May, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Monday.
Speaking at a technology event near Amsterdam, Ballmer said that Forefront Client Security, Microsoft’s antivirus and antispyware product for business desktops, will be available “in the next month.” The product has been in beta testing for more than a year, and the company’s most recent target for final release is by the end of June.
Ballmer characterized the product, which is a combination of products acquired from other companies and Microsoft in-house development, as an all-in-one security product for PCs in a business environment. “It really does do hygiene, security, antivirus all the way down to the client level,” he said.
…
Ballmer also said that even as Microsoft continues efforts to make its software more inherently secure, there likely will always be a need for additional and third-party security products for the most reliable protection of IT systems. This is why the company opted to build its own security line.
It probably didn’t hurt that they spotted some money on the table. The odd thing, of course, is that while most desktop security companies offer a business version of their products, it is generally only mildly modified from the consumer product. Microsoft on the other hand has two completely separate products with different heritages with Forefront Client Security for business and Windows Live OneCare for consumers.
