Avatier Eases Access Management

VARs can load the modular software suite on a customer's IT framework and in little time have a complete, secure system that improves password enforcement and user provisioning, said Nelson Cicchitto, chairman and CEO of San Ramon, Calif.-based Avatier.

The key to AIMS is simplicity, Cicchitto said. The software's modular functionality lets users pick and choose the feature sets that best suit their needs, including client authentication methods ranging from self-service password resets to 24-hour phone support. What's more, customers seldom need to make additional technology investments to run AIMS, he added.

"There is no database needed. We live in the virtual directory--whatever a customer has on the back end," Cicchitto said.

AIMS works across multiple operating-system platforms--including Windows, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX and Linux--and in a wide range of application environments, Cicchitto said, adding that the management interface offers translation in 26 languages. AIMS' use of virtual directory technology also improves synchronization of tasks across a distributed network, meaning that an employee who is decommissioned from the network in France will lose access to the company's entire global network at the same time.

Almost no professional services expertise is required to deploy and support AIMS, according to Cicchitto. That's a big plus for Jennifer Gray, director of operations at Verus Solutions, a Rochester, Mich.-based solution provider.

A relatively small shop, Verus typically must subcontract its professional services needs, Gray said. However, with AIMS, a disk install is just about all that's needed to deploy the software, which saves Verus money when it sells the suite, she said.

"We sell AIMS side-by-side against its competitors like Courion, and it wins out a lot because [Avatier is] really great for pre- and post-sales support," Gray said. "An average sale of AIMS is about $25,000 to $30,000."