HP offers products to support Windows Vista
HP announced a portfolio of “Microsoft-Ready” products to help customers experience transition to Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
HP will support the latest Microsoft products through interoperability with its enterprise hardware and software offerings – including HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers, HP StorageWorks products and HP Software.
Additionally, nearly all HP business notebook, desktop and workstation PCs are available in Windows Vista Premium Ready configurations.
HP’s enterprise management software will support both the Windows Vista and Exchange Server 2007 environments. As a large number of enterprises upgrade to Windows Vista, HP Software smart plug-ins (SPIs) – including the Exchange Server 2007 SPI – will ensure seamless interoperability with the new platforms, HP said.
HP StorageWorks products will provide full support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, while HP ProLiant servers with Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition support 64-bit versions of both Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. In addition, HP BladeSystem c-Class solutions will support Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007.
In addition, new HP End-User Workplace Messaging & Collaboration Solutions for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 are designed to provide competitively priced alternatives to building, staffing and managing an infrastructure in-house.
Finally, HP End-User Workplace Desktop Solutions for Windows Vista are designed help improve security, connectivity and manageability of an end-user computing environment to deliver the full value of a Windows Vista solution.
Dell offers two tools to assist with Vista transition
Dell Canada is enhancing its tool chest to help customers assess, upgrade and deploy desktops and notebooks in their networked environments.
Those tools include the Windows Vista ROI Tool, which is designed to give customers quantifiable information that helps them plan and budget around their Windows Vista migration. With the Windows Vista ROI Tool, customers can track their TCO for up to three years. Dell also launched the Exchange Advisor Tool, a blueprint to optimize and simplify customers email environments including system sizing, availability, data security, backup and recovery, and archiving.
Dell also said its latest server and storage products, desktops and notebooks are designed and optimized for the unique requirements of Windows Vista, 2007 Office system and Exchange Server 2007.
Random Password Manager aimed at Vista security holes
Lieberman Software Corp. announced that its Random Password Manager Enterprise Edition provides temporary administrator credentials for limited users. This is intended to minimize one of the most critical IT security threats – users running with administrative privileges. This solution grants the appropriate level of administrator privileges that Windows Vista users require to safely accomplish common systems maintenance operations, Lieberman said.
Windows Vista includes the User Access Control (UAC) security feature that forces users to provide administrator credentials to complete tasks such as installing applications and hardware on their systems. Since most organizations do not provide these credentials to their users, the Help Desk must perform the task of manual remote management of user machines 24/7.
Random Password Manager Enterprise Edition solves the Windows Vista UAC credentials requirement by enabling a secure gateway to an account/password database that allows authorized users to retrieve the local administrator password for their local system in a few minutes from any Web browser. Random Password Manager Enterprise Edition randomizes the issued password after a fixed period of time, so that the credentials are only useful for a limited period.