Top 10 Microsoft-Centric Solutions

Here's a rundown of 10 Microsoft-centric solutions and how solution providers are benefiting from these technologies:

CA Internet Security Plus Suite 2008
The line of Internet security and desktop management products from CA is designed for home and home-office users. The products defend against online threats, including identity theft, viruses, spyware, spam and phishing. The flagship product, CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2008, incorporates Web site authentication, data backup and PC-to-PC data transfer.

Among the key components are antiphishing software that helps protect against fraudulent and malicious Web sites by issuing warnings when a site is potentially unsafe; data backup and data transfer to protect files, photos, music, and PC settings through backup, restore and transfer options; and integrated parental controls to ensure protection from inappropriate content. The CA products run on Windows 2000 Professional SP4+, Windows XP SP1+, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2 or Windows Vista.

Tiger Direct Inc., Miami, offers the CA Internet Security Suite to its customers via each channel it participates in, including retail through TigerDirect and CompUSA retail stores, on the Internet and via direct mail though catalogs, said Russell Strunk, vice president of marketing. "The suite is beneficial to Tiger/CompUSA because first it attracts customers who require a threat/and#91;antivirusand#93; solution and allows us to meet that need with a top-tier product, and second and#91;becauseand#93; it's a great upsell to customers who do not realize that and#91;theirand#93; AV protection is out of date," Strunk said.

Citrix Application Delivery Infrastructure
The framework from Citrix Systems Inc. supports remote access to Microsoft Windows Essential Business Server. The components of the Citrix Delivery Center include XenApp, XenDesktop, XenServer and NetScaler, all orchestrated by Workflow Studio.

XenApp is a Windows application delivery system that offers both client and server application virtualization. It allows organizations to deliver applications as a service, providing on-demand access to users. XenDesktop is desktop-virtualization software that assembles virtual desktops on-demand, providing users with a personalized desktop each time they log on. XenServer provides server virtualization, enabling organizations to manage servers and related storage and networking resources from a single management console. Finally, NetScaler is a Web-application-delivery appliance that accelerates application performance up to five times by leveraging multiple acceleration technologies.

"We have an entire practice built around the Citrix Delivery Center infrastructure," said Geoff Green, access and systems practice principal at MTM Technologies Inc., a Stamford, Conn.-based solution provider. The company has provided life-cycle management for Presentation Server/XenApp, and as the new Citrix products have come out, MTM has added them to its offering, Green said.

"NetScaler has given us a strong networking appliance that allows us to manage not only remote access to XenApp, but also to manage Web-based applications that used to be managed by 'the Web guys,'" Green said. With the recent addition of XenDesktop, MTM is able to extend centralized computing to clients who were either unable or unwilling to accept a Citrix Published Desktop as a day-to-day workspace, he said.

The Citrix framework allows MTM "to open new markets within the desktop virtualization and networking areas, while extending our existing server virtualization and disaster-recovery practices," Green said. "Our core access practice is also extended by giving us the ability to offer an end-to-end access strategy instead of an accumulation of point solutions."

Kaseya Managed Services Edition
This platform is an integrated IT automation framework designed for MSPs. It manages each client's infrastructure, network components, servers and desktop PCs remotely and transparently. The Kaseya framework allows IT professionals to monitor, manage and maintain a distributed IT infrastructure remotely via an integrated Web-based platform.

MSPs can use the platform to get an integrated view into customers' IT environments and manage their infrastructures.

Kaseya 2008, released in March, is the latest-generation framework of Kaseya's IT automation software. It includes integration of Versora technology for easier management and transfer of user preferences, profiles and settings, and includes an application programming interface that makes it easier for third parties to integrate their software with the Kaseya framework.

Expedient Technology Solutions LLC, an IT services and consulting firm in Germantown, Ohio, uses the full suite of Kaseya products, including patch management, monitoring, asset management, scripting, end-point security and backup disaster-recovery modules.

"It has given us a very stable platform to proactively service our clients, and allowed us to add additional functionality to our service offerings," said Marcus Thompson, director of IT consulting. "We wouldn't have been able to offer such a comprehensive managed services product that is easily managed without Kaseya."

Next: Nortel Network Application Accelerator 510 Nortel Network Application Accelerator 510
Nortel Networks Corp. claims the Application Accelerator 510 improves the performance of Web-based applications by five to 20 times. It includes profiles optimized and tested for Microsoft Outlook Web Access, Microsoft SharePoint and IBM WebSphere, and the default profile will accelerate any Web-based application. New application profiles can be created and shared.

The Application Accelerator 510 is designed for enterprises that expect no more than 4,000 peak users and that don't require the assurance of continuous availability. The device, which can be clustered for added scalability, reduces server load through SSL termination, acceleration and centralized certificate management, and compresses traffic by monitoring content.

"Our customers and prospects want access to their applications immediately. The Accelerator 510 is one of Nortel's solutions that we use to meet that expectation," said Bart Graf, principal at Integration Partners Corp., a network infrastructure solution provider in Lexington, Mass. "In terms of Web-based applications, we have found that the Accelerator 510 optimizes response time improvements while improving application traffic," Graf said. "The value of this solution to IPC is that it enables us to offer our customers a solution that will save them money and improve productivity and user experience."

Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
The Xen-based virtualization integrated in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 enables organizations to increase server utilization by consolidating physical servers and applications, possibly leading to lower hardware, maintenance and electrical costs.

With virtualization, organizations can leverage excess data center capacity and improve response times by balancing computing loads across resources at peak times. They can also redeploy physical server resources, for example, by migrating server workloads to virtual farms and releasing physical resources for other uses.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 provides support for Xen 3.2 virtualization on both 32- and 64-bit x86-based architectures with the capability to host 32-bit virtual machines on 64-bit virtualization host servers. It also provides support for both paravirtualization and full virtualization on the same server, leveraging both Intel VT and AMD Virtualization processor capabilities.

Microsoft and Novell signed a five-year collaboration agreement in which Microsoft can make subscription certificates available for customers to redeem SUSE Linux Enterprise Server support services directly from Novell. Microsoft and Novell jointly support SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to run as a guest on Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 to run as a paravirtualized guest on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Vince Conroy, CTO of FusionStorm, a San Francisco-based solution provider, says there has been increased interest in the Linux-based server among customers, which he attributes in part to the Microsoft-Novell relationship.

"Our staff works with both Red Hat and SUSE Linux distributions; they both have their strengths and I think they're both here to stay," Conroy said. "Microsoft has helped Novell quite a bit by validating their distribution in the marketplace and helping to build the Novell Linux brand."

Research In Motion BlackBerry
The BlackBerry lets users stay connected wirelessly with other people and offers access to e-mail, corporate data, the Internet and other resources. The lineup includes BlackBerry 8800 series smartphones, geared toward enterprise customers; BlackBerry Pearl, which is designed for voice communications more than data; and BlackBerry Curve, which is similar to Pearl but has a full QWERTY keyboard.

RIM also markets BlackBerry Enterprise Solution, which allows users to access communications, e-mail, instant messaging, calendar, address book and enterprise data wirelessly. It includes the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, software that provides a link between wireless devices, enterprise applications and wireless networks. BlackBerry Enterprise Solution offers end-to-end security, with encryption and controls on how handsets can be deployed.

The Blackberry is "big business for us, insomuch as it seems today that everywhere there is e-mail there is a Blackberry," said Steve McDonald, enterprise architect at Optimus Solutions, an Atlanta-based VAR and RIM partner. McDonald says Optimus deals predominantly in licensing of BlackBerry server software. One of the biggest opportunities is helping customers find added value in BlackBerry technology beyond e-mail, calendaring and voice communications. For example, users can link the devices to applications such as business intelligence.

EMC's RSA Security SecurID
A core component of RSV Identity Assurance solution, SecurID strong authentication technology increases information security by combining two factors: something the user knows (such as a user name and PIN), and something they have (an authenticator that generates pseudo-random, one-time pass codes).

By requiring users to provide both the user name/PIN and a one-time pass code, RSA SecurID helps to ensure that information is only available to authorized users. RSA offers organizations a range of user authentication options, both hardware-based and software-basedand#8212;embedded in a variety of devicesand#8212;to help positively identify users before they can interact with data and applications. SecurID includes RSA Authentication Manager, software that is the management component of the technology. It's used to verify authentication requests and centrally administer authentication policies for enterprise networks. Other components include hardware authenticators, such as tokens, that provide two-factor authentication; and software authenticators that reduce the number of items a user has to manage for secure access to corporate assets.

Conroy of FusionStorm, which offers RSV SecurID to customers, said the technology integrates well with many third-party software solutions. "It's the market leader in token-based authentication," he said. "It's very popular and#91;for theand#93; Windows environment because it's easy to use and works with a lot of applications."

Next: Utimaco SafeGuard PrivateDisk 2.02 Utimaco SafeGuard PrivateDisk 2.02
A tool for the encryption of files and folders in virtual devices, SafeGuard PrivateDisk acts as an electronic safe that allows users to protect data and access encrypted data in external environments. SafeGuard PrivateDisk 2.02 is the first of the SafeGuard solutions featuring Windows Vista support, and will be followed by the next SafeGuard Enterprise 5.2 release integrating Vista BitLocker Management, scheduled to be introduced this fall.

SafeGuard PrivateDisk can be used as a stand-alone security solution or can use keys and certificates of an existing PKI. SafeGuard PrivateDisk also supports the use of smart cards for strong authentication access to files. Included as part of SafeGuard PrivateDisk is SafeGuard PrivateDisk Portable, which lets users extract files from a memory stick and read encrypted documents, even if encryption software isn't installed.

Security solution provider iQwest Technologies Inc., Valencia, Calif., offers SafeGuard PrivateDisk as a complement to Utimaco's full-disk encryption products, including SafeGuard Easy or SafeGuard Enterprise, said Gal Shpantzer, vice president, Partnerships and Strategic Alliances, at iQwest.

"Each customer has different use-case scenarios and we want to match the right technology with the right use-case," Shpantzer said. He says Utimaco's approach to the encryption market "is the most comprehensive in the industry. They have a very broad array of strong partnerships with companies like Intel, Seagate, Microsoft and the authentication vendors."

These partnerships, combined with Utimaco's software products, "really offer a future-proof encryption portfolio," Shpantzer said. "I can take that portfolio to my customers and solve their needs for today and for years to come."

VMware Server
This virtualization product for Windows and Linux servers has been used by thousands of customers over the past six years, according to VMware Inc. VMware Server runs on any standard x86 hardware and supports 64-bit guest operating systems, including Windows, Linux and Solaris.

The server product can be managed by VMware VirtualCenter, and add on features, to provision, monitor and manage infrastructure from a central management console. It supports two-processor Virtual SMP, enabling a single virtual machine to span multiple physical processors.

The technology lets companies quickly partition a physical server into multiple virtual machines. Users can provision a new server without investing in new hardware, run Windows and Linux and applications on the same physical server and move virtual machines from one physical host to another without reconfiguration.

McDonald says VMware Server is a core offering for Optimus Solutions. "It's one of the biggest Microsoft-driven solutions. The proliferation of Windows servers has led to enormous data centers," and that has opened up the market for virtualization, he said.

Zenith Infotech MSP Platform
The combination of Zenith's products and services enables MSPs to deliver a complete infrastructure solution to their customers.

One component, SAAZ, is a hosted remote management platform that enables MSPs to manage desktops, servers, SNMP network devices and applications from a single Web portal and remote administration console. Another, Virtual NOC, is a service geared to partners that don't want to build and operate a NOC, as well as for those that have built a NOC but need to scale it to service more customers without significantly increasing manpower. The Virtual NOC service handles routine maintenance and monitoring functions. The platform also includes Virtual Service Desk, which provides live help-desk services to customers of MSPs. Zenith provides the service from its Service Desk in Pittsburgh, staffed with technicians experienced in server, desktop and network issues.

Finally, Zenith Infotech offers a Backup and Disaster Recovery Solution for Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 Servers. This provides SMBs with near-realtime backups and off-site data storage, as well as multiyear archiving and server virtualization capabilities.

Zenith Infotech's platform has enabled Mytech Partners LLC, Minneapolis, to rapidly deploy a range of management tools to its customers, said Lyf Wildenberg, president. "Within 12 months, we have converted over 50 percent of our time and material revenue to monthly recurring revenue," Wildenberg said.