ISS Buy Bears First Fruit for Big Blue
Security appliances scheduled to hit Monday.
Less than a month after closing the $1.3 billion deal for Internet Security Systems (ISS), IBM Monday plans to unveil the first appliance from its security division.
The IBM Proventia Management SiteProtector device provides something of a home base for a network, allowing network and host security operations to be managed from one console, according to an IBM statement.
SiteProtector manages a number of software products from ISS, including network-based intrusion prevention, multi-function systems, server and desktop security, vulnerability management, anomaly detection and e-mail security.
The ability to manage all security software from one box cuts considerable costs for customers because they don't have to buy several security devices or implement multiple management consoles to ward of security threats.
Not having to install, configure and maintain many machines has some time-saving upside, too; SiteProtector ships pre-configured and can be set up in half an hour or less, IBM said.
Greg Adams, vice president of product development for IBM ISS, said in a statement SiteProtector is necessary at a time when Internet attackers are finding new ways to exploit security vulnerabilities on networks.
The ISS products are also backed by the IBM ISS X-Force research and development team, which is renowned for its vulnerability analysis.
The Proventia Management SiteProtector box will be available by the end of the month.
By acquiring ISS, IBM officially thrust its iron into the security appliance market, where it competes with Cisco Systems , Secure Computing and EMC , which gained security hardware when it purchased RSA Security earlier this year.
In related IBM hardware news, the company said it will begin offering four System x servers with Intel's new quad-core Xeon 5300 processor next week.
IBM said in a statement the new machines should offer three to four times performance of systems that IBM offered less than a year ago.
They include the x3650, a 2U, two-socket rack server for medium and large enterprises, starting at $2,419; the 1U x3550, a two-socket rack server for medium and large businesses, starting at $2,369; the x3500 two-socket tower server, starting at $2,189; and the x3400 for small and medium businesses, starting at $1,839.
Clients can order quad-core systems beginning next Tuesday, with shipping expected to begin in December for the system x3550 and x3650, and in January for the x3400 and x3500.
Earlier this week, Dell (Quote) became the first vendor to announce machines based on the Intel 5300. Dell's will ship next week, too.
Article courtesy of internetnews.com
