News Briefs: tidbits of interest from near to far
Intranet growth, security standards, and Networks Expo launches to whet your appetite
March 1997
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News Briefs: tidbits of interest from near to farIntranet growth, security standards, and Networks Expo launches to whet your appetite |
March 1997
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London (02/19/97) -- U.S. corporate intranet usage could surge 369 percent over the next two years according to a new study released by market research firm Strategic Focus.
A survey of 261 MIS managers and application developers found that U.S. corporations are rushing to develop intranets at break-neck speeds, according to a statement by Jay Prakash, president and principal consultant at Milpitas, CA-based Strategic Focus.
Other strong areas of growth over the next two years include the development of three-tier client/server applications, which will increase by 200 percent, and Internet applications, which will increase by 226 percent, according to the study.
"What will clearly decline are applications that do not fall into the client/server or intranet/Internet category," Prakash said. "In other words, non-client/server applications that constitute 46.9 percent of all applications developed today will decline to 17 percent in two years' time."
The study also concluded that the percentage of two-tier client/server applications will neither grow nor decline relative to the number of applications now implemented. However, over the next two years, the two-tier client/server market will see "continued erosion" due to the development of intranet applications, Prakash said.
But while businesses may be embracing the intranet as the newest development platform for corporate applications, MIS managers continue to harbor concerns about security when it comes to such Web-based development.
In a separate survey of 399 MIS managers, intranet users and application developers, Strategic Focus found that 55 percent of respondents identified security as their top concern when it comes to developing intranet and Web-based applications. Other obstacles cited include lack of trained personnel and uncertainty of cost advantages in switching to web-based applications development, according to the study.
Strategic Focus http://www.strategicfocus.com/
--Kristi Essick, IDG News Service, London Bureau
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Boston (02/24/97) -- Cisco Systems Inc., in partnership with industry leaders including Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp., today announced an enterprise-wide security initiative which it plans to roll out over the next 18 months.
The alliance of companies will work to integrate and improve current security solutions, enabling customers to centrally configure a security policy that can be distributed across networked clients, servers, and infrastructure, officials said.
The participants aim to develop common specifications, allowing IS managers to consolidate security configuration across disparate devices and technologies. Customers will be able to centrally manage a secure routing and switching fabric for activities like electronic commerce, and at the same time be able to detect network anomalies and attacks, officials said.
The alliance, dubbed the Enterprise Security Alliance, also will work to improve key technologies like IPsec and digital certificates.
Other participants in the alliance include Hewlett-Packard Corp., Cylink Corp., RSA Data Security Inc., and Verisign Inc.
--James Niccolai, IDG News Service, Boston Bureau
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London (02/17/97) -- Sybase Inc. today detailed how it plans to incorporate digital certificate technology from RSA Data Security Inc. into its Web-enabled databases.
Under the terms of an agreement announced last month, Sybase will use digital certificate and digital signature authentication from RSA to secure database transactions conducted over the Internet with its SQL Server.
Sybase Web-enabled its SQL Server for use over the Internet last year, but until now has provided only encryption technology to secure data security.
"If business over the Internet is to become truly viable, participants must have a high degree of confidence in the confidentiality and integrity of their transactions," said Jim Bidzos, president of RSA, in a statement.
In March, Sybase plans to announce plans to make SQL Server even more specifically adapted to Web commerce, officials said.
Sybase home page http://www.sybase.com/
--Kristi Essick, IDG News Service, London Bureau
Boston (02/18/97) -- A small but diverse selection of new products was announced today at the Networks Expo trade show in Boston. The show was combined this year with Internet/Intranet Expo.
One exhibitor commented that the show, which once featured more product unveilings, has evolved into a forum where existing products can be demonstrated to regional IS staffs.
Netcom Systems Inc. of Chatsworth, CA, announced an addition to its line of SmartCards for testing Layer 3 switching products and routers. Netcom can be contacted at http://www.netcomsystems.com/.
ImageNet Inc. of Saratoga, CA, unveiled Cane Version 2, its latest integrated software suit for network design, analysis, and simulation. ImageNet can be contacted at http://www.imagenet-cane.com/. Cane version 2 lists for $7,950, and the Cane-Rad module starts at $4,000. Both are due to be released early next quarter.
Knozall Systems Inc. of Chandler, AZ, announced Ver. 2 of its server compression and decompression tool, ZipWip. The stand-alone tool is priced at $395. Knozall can be contacted at http://www.knozall.com/.
Raritan Computer Inc., of Somerset, NJ, announced CompuSwitch, a product that enables control of up to four personal computers from a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse. A four-channel model is priced at $595 and a two-channel model at $385. Both are shipping now. Raritan can be reached at http://www.raritan.com/.
Telequip Corp. of Nashua, NH, announced the availability of Net Wallet, a PC card secure processor for storing data used in electronic commerce. Pricing was not immediately available. Telequip can be reached at http://www.telequip.com/.
--James Niccolai, IDG News Service, Boston Bureau
San Francisco (02/26/97) -- Lucent Technologies Inc. announced today that it will launch a Java Developers Kit (JDK) for its PassageWay Telephony Services at the Computer Telephony Expo trade show in Los Angeles next week.
The JDK will enable Lucent customers to write telephony applications in Java that can be shared across different computer platforms through the PassageWay system, according to company officials.
"This will enable multimedia applications to be shared across a variety of desktops running Java," said Ryerson Schwark, a spokesman for Lucent.
Lucent's JDK is based on the recently finalized Java Telephony Application Programming Interface (JTAPI), which Sun Microsystems developed with the telephony vendors.
"There is good news and bad news here," said Art Schoeller, research director of voice call processing at the Gartner Group. "The bad news is that there is yet another telephony API in the market. But the good news is the cross platform benefits provided by Java."
--Niall McKay, IDG News Service, San Francisco Bureau
Lucent Technologies http://www.lucent.com/
Islandia, NY (02/25/97) -- Computer Associates International Inc. is now shipping a new version of its Unicenter/Advanced Help Desk (AHD) as well as a new version of CA-Paradigm Service Desk. Both products provide a Web interface and knowledge tool capabilities.
The combination of AHD and Unicenter TNG monitors and manages client/server enterprise networks. The products capture alerts/events and automatically generate incident reports. They can also give early warning signs of potential system trouble.
AHD's Web interface works with browers like Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer and is available to end users via a company's home page. Any user can therefore create call requests, trouble tickets, check their status, or browse a self-learning knowledge base. A new bulletin board feature also allows help desks to electronically post information about network problems to affected users.
Versions 3.5 of AHD and CA-Paradigm Service Desk are available on Sun Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX platforms.
Computer Associates International http://www.cai.com/
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