Optical Laser Gets 'Facetime' With IM, P2P Archiving Developer

The Huntington Beach, Calif.-based value-added distributor, which specializes in storage management and data distribution products, is looking to enhance its storage product line with security, and Foster City, Calif.-based FaceTime represents the first move in that direction, said Arsenio Batoy, Optical Laser president.

"This leverages our archival and compliance market with IM archiving and with IM security issues due to spam, spim and excessive bandwidth," Batoy said. Optical Laser expects its solution providers to plug FaceTime's IM Auditor and RTG 500 perimeter security for P2P and IM software into their storage management and content management offerings.

FaceTime software also integrates with applications such as EMC's Legato, Veritas Software's KVS and FileNet and OpenText to archive IMs and P2P and VoIP messages, said Batoy. In addition, it can archive such files direct to EMC's Centera content-addressable storage array, he said, adding that the company will offer bundles with some of the products.

Andrew Preston, account executive at UCA Computer Systems, a Denville, N.J.-based storage solution provider that first signed up with FaceTime because of Optical Laser, said the software looks to be an easy way to retain IM messages.

"We're seeing a lot of growth [in business] from people trying to retain their messages," Preston said. "And it's not just e-mails. It's IMs and more. We're happy to offer this technology to customers."

The FaceTime software is already in Optical Laser's product line, the distributor's technicians have been trained, and the company is in solution provider recruitment mode, Batoy said. Optical Laser initially will support its channel customers with services until they can handle the FaceTime software themselves, he said.

The core problem FaceTime is trying to solve is the explosion of IM and P2P networks, said Christopher Dean, senior vice president of the software vendor.

While IM can cut e-mail use by 40 percent, that newfound productivity also leads to an upswing in Trojans, viruses and spyware, said Dean. Also, most customers have no policies for IM. "It's a large compliance risk," he said. "[IMs] need to be locked, controlled and audited."

FaceTime software is also available through Bristol, Pa.-based distributor Mackin Imaging Systems.