Microsoft’s Moves Security To The “Forefront”
Microsoft announced during this week’s TechEd 2006 conference that it plans to consolidate all security efforts under a single umbrella, to be named “Forefront.” Along with their launching of Microsoft Antigen, an e-mail security product, they also announced ISA Server 2006, the successor to ISA Server 2004. ISA Server 2006 is an integrated edge security gateway, which combines a firewall and web proxy server in to a single product.
Forefront products reflect Microsoft’s ongoing strategy to provide a comprehensive set of security products across client, server and edge that integrate with existing infrastructure and simplify the task of managing and controlling IT security and access. The first Microsoft Forefront products will be Forefront Client Security (formerly Microsoft Client Protection), scheduled for open beta in the fourth quarter of this year, and the next generation of our Antigen products. Forefront Security for Exchange Server and Forefront Security for SharePoint are timed to coincide with the upcoming Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Office 2007 launches. As Microsoft ISA Server continues to evolve, customers can also expect a Forefront version of our integrated edge security and access gateway. To provide customers with further choice and flexibility, Forefront products will be available as stand alone solutions or as part of the Enterprise CAL suite, the Exchange Enterprise CAL suite or an integrated security product suite.
It will truly be interesting to see if security is really at the forefront of Microsoft’s mind, or if this is another meager attempt to confuse the masses in to offering up money for pointless services.